Yearning
by Boulevard
Summary: Slight AU fic. Rogue gets some more powerful gifts and at the same time, the X-Men recruit a certain Cajun from New Orleans. When the two of them meet, will sparks fly? Remy/Rogue *ON HOLD*
1. What?

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters in X-Men Evolution, Mavel and the WB do…blah blah blah…

**Author's Note:** Since this is an alternate universe fic, it will obviously be different from the cartoon.  Instead of picking up at Day of Reckoning, I will be writing from my own, twisted world.  So in this story, the Brotherhood already knows that Risty Wilde is really Mystique and the New Mutants have not been recruited yet.  However, it still takes place in Bayville and Mystique is currently residing at the Brotherhood's residence.  Also, I will not be writing accents in people's thoughts, because, well, people don't think in accents, do they?  Or it could be the fact that I'm too lazy.  Oh, and please forgive me for my inability to act like an alarm clock and produce accents for the characters that have accents.  I suck at imitating electronic devices and accents, as you will soon find out.  But for now, on with the story!

"words"-regular conversation

_words_-thoughts

_~words~_ telepathic communication

Yearning 

*~*

Beep     Beep     Beep    Beep    Be—the alarm was cut short by a fist slamming down on the clock.  Rogue groaned as she rubbed her eyes, trying to get rid of the sand man's dust, or eye crap, as she called it.  She shivered as she began to get out of her warm bed and into the cold air as she began to get ready for school that day.  _Yup, just another fun filled day of school and danger room sessions.  I can't wait!_ she thought to herself sarcastically as she headed towards the bathroom.  

Hot water began to pour over her body when she stepped into the shower.  _It doesn't get any better than this_, she thought, soaking in every ounce of heat, _I just wish that it didn't have to end_.  Soon, her few minutes of quiet and relaxation ended when Kitty started hammering on the door.  "Like, you've been in there for long enough!" she yelled through the wood separating the two of them, "Hurry up!  You should be, like happy I didn't phase through the door today."  

"Ok, ok!" replied Rogue irritably, "Just give meh a few more minutes ta change."

"Well, like hurry up, okay?"

Rogue stepped out of the shower, dried herself, and began slipping on her clothes quickly.  As soon as she was done, she ran out, nearly running over an anguished Shadowcat, and headed straight to their room so she could apply her infamous makeup.  To her, it was the most important thing of her possession.  It was her protection, the shield that kept everyone away from her.  They feared her, looked at her like she was some kind of maniac, or pushed her aside as if she was unimportant just from her makeup and dark clothes.  This was how it always was and always will be.  As the last bit of maroon eye shadow was applied, she headed downstairs to go to school.  _At least today I'll be able to hang out with Risty today.  Thank God, the only person that understands me and that I can talk to.  _

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Is she unconscious?" asked a deep voice, lingering in the shadows, the glare of a shiny helmet could be seen.  

"Yes, my lord, she is," replied the blue skinned shape shifter, "took us ten minutes to get her into those adamantium chains and another ten to knock her out."

"Very well.  Is everything in order?"

"Yes, the boys and I will abduct her and bring her to you.  The psychic wave reflector is in place and Xavier will not be able to trace her, especially after we're done with her."  

"Good, now, you better hurry up.  You don't want to be late for school, do you?" asked Magneto, just as Mystique shifted into the purple haired girl known as Risty Wilde.   

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

"Damn, Ah think Ah just failed that test," Rogue said to whom she considered her best friend, Risty.  They were heading outside for lunch for a much needed break.   

"Yeah, it was pretty hard, wasn't it?" Risty replied, looking through her book, "Say, do you want to hang out today since it's Friday?  No school or homework to worry about till Sunday."  

"Sure, Ah don't think Ah have ta do anythin' after school.  Ah just have ta tell Scott so he won't have ta wait ta pick me up.  Anyway, Ah think it'll be alraht, so Ah guess Ah'll go.  Even if Ah can't, Ah think Ah'll go anyway, cuz Ah really need a break from the Institute.  Everyone there is drivin' me crazy!  They all think Ah'm so weak  and Ah can't do anything, lahk Ah'm some kinda porcelain doll!  Do Ah look lahk some kinda doll to you?"  

"If you count Barbies with black pen markings over their faces and in witch costumes, then yes."  Risty smiled as she said this jokingly.  

"Ha, ha, very funny."

"Well I thought so."

"Whatevah, Ah gotta get mah books, so Ah'll see ya after school, 'k?"  

"Yeah, I'll see you."  Risty waved to Rogue who was heading towards the school building and kept watching as she went inside.  Soon, the bell began to ring and everybody else followed suit.  Except Risty.  She sat in the exact place, and when no one was around, she smiled, not a smile of laughter or happiness, but one of malice.  Her eyes turned a yellow hue as she whispered, "Oh, don't worry Rogue, after today, no one at your little institute will see you as weak.  Oh no, they will see you as a much stronger force to be dealt with."  Then, she got up, brushed off her pants, and went inside.  

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"What's going on Chuck?" asked Logan, aka Wolverine.  

"Cerebro has just detected a new mutant in New Orleans.  A certain Remy LeBeau with the power to fill objects with kinetic energy," replied Charles Xavier, "Storm, I believe that you know the boy's father, do you not?"

"Yes Charles, I do," said the white haired weather witch known as Storm, "I met him while I was in New Orleans awhile ago."  

"Well then, since you have knowledge of that area, and that you are already acquainted with a close family member of his, would you mind going down to ask him to join our institution?"  

"Of course Charles, I would be honored to go."

"Very well, the Blackbird will be ready in a little bit.  I suggest you start preparing."  Xavier directed his wheelchair to head out of the very circular room.  

"So, an old friend, huh?" asked Logan as he and Storm began to walk out.  Storm turned to face him, was it jealousy she had just heard in his voice?  _Why would Logan be jealous?  After all, he is just an old friend of mine._  

"Yes, an old friend, and nothing more than that." Storm headed towards the elevator and pushed a button to take her up.  _I do hope Jean-Luc remembers who I am.  If he doesn't, I'm sure Remy will.  After all, I was rather attached to him as he was to me._

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Scott was waiting impatiently in the driver's seat of his car.  In the back were Evan and Kurt and in the passenger's seat was Kitty, all of whom were wondering where Rogue was just as much as Scott.  _Where the hell is she?_ Scott wondered. _It's not like her to be late, Evan maybe, but not Rogue.  At least she'll be able to fit.  Good thing Jean has soccer practice today._  A figure with a mixture of black and green came running over.  The figure, of course, being Rogue caught her breath and said, "Sorry Ah kept you guys waitin'.  Ah'm just gonna hang out with Risty today, ok?  Ah'll be back bah six."  

"You couldn't have told us that sooner?" asked Evan in an annoyed tone.  

"Well sorrrrrrryyy porcupine.  Ah couldn't find any of yuh."

"Ok, inform us a little sooner next time, ok Rogue?" said Scott, in his parental type voice, "Just be back in time for the nightly danger room session, ok?"

"Yeah, whatevah, Ah'm goin' now."  Rogue waved a hand irritably and began walking towards Risty who was patiently waiting for her near the steps.  "Ready tah go?"

"Yes."

"Ok, then where are we goin'"

"I'm not going anywhere." Risty replied, her eyes narrowing.  

"What do ya mean?  You said we were going to hang out."  Rogue was getting a little weirded out by her response. 

"Oh, we are Rogue, just not in the way you think we are."  Her voice changed half way through the sentence as she shifted back into her original form, blue skin, blazing red hair, and glowing yellow eyes.  

"You!  What the hell did ya do with Risty?" Rogue gasped as she began backing away, fear taking over her whole body.  

"Ignorant Rogue, I am Risty."  Mystique began inching closer to Rogue.  But before Rogue could do anything, a massive hand accompanied by an enormous body closed in on her with an ethylene laden cloth.  Rogue struggled to get out, trying to reach for her gloves, but the cloth was soon placed over her face, and she began to stop struggling and drift.  Drift off into her own world, down into the darkness.  Her body was now limp and lifeless.  "Good job Blob.  Take her to the car." Mystique ordered him to place her into the dark blue car with tinted windows.  As Mystique climbed in and drove off, the other Brotherhood members got into their famous Jeep and followed suit.  As they drove off to whatever mysterious location they were heading to, the high school looked as if nothing had occurred, especially not that of an abduction.  

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Well, what did you guys think?  Love it?  REVIEW!  Hate it?  REVIEW!  I'd love some feedback on this and please, tell me if you want me to continue, or just throw it in the recycling bin.  If you have any suggestions, feel free to email me.  I kind of already have an outline set up, but some new ideas are always welcome.   


	2. Where?

Sorry the last chapter was so horrible.  This is my first fan fiction, so please, don't kill me.  For those who reviewed, thank you!  I really appreciate it.  And, for those who are wondering, this will be a Remy/Rogue fic, since they're my favorite couple.  *sighs*  If you're wondering if Gambit will be recruited in some adventurous chase scene, then I'm sorry to disappoint you, because it's not.  I know, I know, really boring and tame, but I'd like to establish the relationship between him and Storm and possibly, his past.  Don't worry, he's still going to be the snake charmer he always was, and still is.  

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Storm stepped out onto the street of New Orleans, taking in all the eclectic atmosphere she loved so much.  She enjoyed smelling all the mouth watering scents of Cajun dishes, listening to the conversations of Creole, and just the sight of people talking and laughing, going on with their care free lives.  It felt so much like…home.  _No, not home.  This isn't home.  Africa is home._  Suddenly, painful images of rubble and destruction flashed through her mind, the heartbreaking images she worked so hard to repress, not forget, but repress.  It was the day her parents died, the day she had to fend for herself by stealing.  It was the beginning of a new life.  She could never forget how her parents perished, how her claustrophobia surfaced.  Being trapped under debris for three days when you're a toddler would make you claustrophobic, wouldn't it?  As Storm regained her composure, she took a deep breath and headed towards the building she had visited many times before, the LeBeau mansion.  

It was an extraordinary building, tall and grand, like a chateau in France or a palace in a far off mystical land.  It didn't take her long to get there, having been there so many times.  She was just retracing her steps she had took some time ago.  

As she reached the gate, she saw the speakerphone, which she pressed.  "Hello?"  A voice came out of the speaker.  

"This is Ororo Munroe.  I have come to see Jean-Luc."  

"Hold on one minute dear," the person replied.  There were some muffled sounds and then silence before a warm and familiar voice was heard.  

"Ororo, it is good t' hear from y' again."  This voice belonged to Jean-Luc, an old companion she hadn't seen in years.  

"Yes, and to you too."

"Please, come in."  And as if on cue, the gates began to creak open.

"Thank you very much," replied Storm before walking through the gates.  Taking swift strides, she reached the massive door in good time where she was greeted by a man who was a bit stout, had thick brown hair, and a beard.  "Ororo, what a pleasure it is for y' t' visit.  Come in, come in.  What brings you here?"  He led her into an area filled with armchairs and books.  They sat down and Jean-Luc called over a maid to bring them some refreshments.  

"It is nice to see you again too, however, I am here to discuss Remy with you."

"Ah, of course, I see dat school o' yours has picked up his power."  

"Yes, and I am here to ask you, as well as him if he would like to come and learn how to control it."  The maid was back with water, which Storm drank gratefully.  Jean-Luc spoke in rapid French to the maid who nodded and left.  

"Well, can't tell y' if he wants t' go, so I just called f'r him.  He will be glad t' see y' Ororo."  

"I hope so, I haven't seen him for quite a while now."

Soon footsteps could be heard as a tall, built boy, or man I should say, with messy auburn hair and sunglasses as well as an annoyed expression on his face walked in.  "What d' y' wan' pere?  Belle an' I were jus' 'bout t'—."  He stopped short as he saw the face of the weather witch he had known as a child.  "Stormy!  What are y' doin' here?" he asked, a grin spread on his face as he walked over to hug her.  

"Why, I've come to see you Remy," she replied after she had returned the hug that he had given her.  Remy pretended to act shocked.  "Moi?  What gave me de honor o' being de purpose o' my own Stormy's visit?"  Storm lightly punched him in the arm as he acted as if he was in intense pain.  "Do not call me by that silly name.  I've told you time and time again."  Her voice was stern, but a smile was twitching between her lips.  "The point is, I believe that you have gained a…gift."  Remy's grin was still there, though it was not as wide as it had been a minute ago.  "What are y' sayin'?  Y' wan' me t' go back wit' y' t' dat school y' live at?"

"Yes Remy, I would like it if you came.  It will give you the chance to work on controlling your powers and possibly increasing them in power."  

"But dat means leavin' N'awlins.  Leavin' ev'ryone here."  Though you could not see it, his forbidden eyes, the ruby on black eyes, were burning.  He did not like this idea, not one bit.  

"I t'ink it be a good idea Remy."  Jean-Luc spoke for the first time since the two, Remy and Storm, had met.  Remy turned around to look at his father.  His face was full of shock.  "What?  Y' wan' me t' go?" he asked his father in surprise.  "Remy," he said gently, "y' nearly killed Tante Mattie yest'day."  Remy's face began to heat up, which was a very rare thing to happen.  "It was 'n accident!"  He was nearly shouting now.  _But it's true.  The only reason why she isn't dead is because Henri accidentally knocked her over while he was trying to run away from something Mercy threw at him.  _He lowered his head.  _And that wasn't even the first time something like that has happened._

"But next time, someone will get hurt…or poss'bly die."  Jean-Luc had a sort of warning look in his eyes.  Remy thought it over, knowing full well that if he didn't get any control, someone would die.  

As he began to breathe out a sigh of defeat, Storm placed her cocoa colored hand against his tanned one.  "It really isn't all that bad.  The people there understand what it's like to be different."  When she said that, his face shot up and looked at her.  Storm held her breath.  _I didn't intend to put it that way.  I really didn't.  Goddess forgive me.  _  

When Storm had those few words that hurt him so much, Remy yanked his hand out of hers.  The thoughts and memories had haunted him through his whole life.  People on the street calling him the devil, not being accepted, and having to hide behind glasses and colored contacts his whole life just to be "normal".  As the images began flashing in his mind, he began to reconsider.  _Maybe I should go with Stormy.  I may just give me the chance to start over again, to get away from these bad experiences and mistakes…really bad experiences and mistakes._

"Fine.  I'll go wit' y'.  Give m' time t' say g'bye t' mon friends, 'k?"

Storm smiled, relieved he wasn't too taken back by what she had just said.  "Of course."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It was cold, dark, and damp.  Everything was a blur.  Rogue opened her eyes to see everything out of focus.  _Ow, my head hurts like hell._  She slowly began to take in her surroundings.  The floor was smooth and cool, some type of metal.  She was in some sort of cage, which was in some kind of…lab?  It was too dark to tell.  She began to panic.  _Where am I?  How did I get here?  I need help…I need help!_  Her thoughts began to become a jumble as her fear intensified.  She clawed her way to the bars that encaged her and widened her eyes as she saw something from her little corner.  It was a body, a pretty beaten body at that.  The blond hair of the person, which Rogue was able to distinguish as a girl, was matted.  The figure was wilted, as if she didn't have any strength, like she was…dead.  As Rogue thought about this, her horror, if not already on a high enough level, began to go over the top.  _Oh my God, are they going to kill me?_  Coming to this conclusion, she shouted, "HELP!  SOMEBODY!  Please, HELP ME!"  However, her cries for aid were in vain.  As soon as she finished yelling, a slinky shadow came up to her little cage.  "Well hello Rogue, it's so nice to see you up," a dark, yet soothing voice said.  Rogue's eyes narrowed into two green slits as she stared up at the conniving shape shifter.  "You!  What the hell do ya want with meh?"  

"Why Rogue, we want to experiment with you and your very unique…power."  As Mystique said the last word, her face cracked into the grin that was full of vile and unpleasantness.  Rogue shrank back into the corner of the enclosure.  "What?" she held her breath.  It all came together now.  _They're not going to kill me…they're going to use me to kill someone._  The panic rushed back into her body very quickly.  The only thing she could think of doing was trying to contact the professor, she only hoped he would be able to trace her thoughts.  She squinted her eyes and concentrated hard on projecting her thoughts, forgetting all too well what type of person Mystique was.  

Mystique smirked.  "Don't you think we've already thought of that?  That machine," she pointed to a rather large and complicated looking apparatus, "can disrupt mind waves.  There is no way Xavier will be able to track you down."        

After hearing that, Rogue's eyes showed defeat.  There was nothing she could do now.  Absolutely nothing.  She glanced at the body that she thought was already dead.  But that wouldn't matter in a matter of time.  She would be dead anyway, or at least close to dead if Mystique was going to do what she thought she was going to do.  _I'm so sorry.  I can't stop what's going to happen  me.  If I ever get out of here, I'll never forgive myself.  Never._  Her head was hung low, tears began to well up in her usually bright, but now dull, green eyes.  _Why did I have to be given this gift?  No, not gift, curse.  _

Mystique stood there, as if waiting for a signal.  When she looked at Rogue, her heart filled with remorse.  How could she do this?  This was her own daughter, and for a while there, her best friend.  She began to think that this was a bad idea, but shook her head.  _No, you're doing the right thing.  She will be one of the most powerful mutants on earth  after you're done with her.  You're doing her a favor. _ But the way she had treated her when she had taken her still struck her in her heart.  It was cold, cruel, something you would not do to your own child.  Before she could think other wise, a booming voice overhead said, "Let the absorption begin!"

For a huge person, Blob, Fred to his friends, appeared rather quickly, and out of what seemed like nowhere.  Quicksilver zipped by, Toad hopped over and sat in his usual squatting position, and Avalanche walked over.  They all glanced at their former Brotherhood member, knowing that her fate was going to be catastrophic.  The metal bar door swung open and Pietro speeded by and held her arms together.  Rogue strained to get out of his grasp, but it was of no avail.  Fred walked over, each step feeling like an earthquake, gathered her securely in his arms, and carried her to an identical set of shackles to those of the mysterious woman, whose life would be at Rogue's hands, literally too.  As soon as the members of the Brotherhood made sure Rogue was in place, Mystique removed Rogue's gloves.  Magneto then spoke.  "Ms. Danvers."  The figure next to Rogue could barely lift her head up.  Her tired and drooping blue eyes tried to look up, but couldn't.  She didn't have the strength to pull away, and wouldn't be able to anyway.  "Ms. Danvers, I would like you to meet someone who will lead to your destruction."  

Carol Danvers sneered, but just barely.  "I'm invulnerable Magneto," she croaked, her voice barely there, "or have you forgotten that?  I may be beaten, but once I've regained my strength—."  She stopped there.  "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"  It was replaced by a scream, but if you listened carefully, it was two screams in unison, almost in perfect harmony.  

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Back at the mansion, Kitty and Kurt were fighting over what they were going to watch on TV again.  

"I, like, want to watch Pearl Harbor!  It's on HBO right now!"  Kitty said this rather angrily as she pushed the button on the remote control.  

"Zat vas ze stupidest movie ever made!  I vant to vatch ze World Cup.  Germany's playing!"  Kurt was sitting next to the TV, pushing the channel button on the TV.  He tried to get the remote control, but Kitty kept on phasing her hand, as well the controller.  

"You can watch your stupid soccer any time.  Isn't it, like, a month long?  That's a lot of soccer games."

"Can't you rent zhat movie at Blockbuster or somezing?"

"Pearl Harbor!"

"Soccer!"

"Pearl Harbor!"

"Soccer!"

Their arguing continued like this for a few minutes as each clicked and clicked, only to have their channel disappear and reappear again and again.  

"I am sorry to interrupt your…disagreement," the professor said as he rolled into the room, stopping them, for a minute at least, "but have any of you seen Rogue?  Did she come home with you today?"

"Well, yeah professor, but she's just hanging out with Risty today.  She said she'd be back by, like, six."

"Thank you Kitty.  That was all I wanted to know."  The professor exited, and prayed that they would not have to buy yet another TV as Kitty and Kurt began their furious button-pressing contest.  Little did anyone know that there was a lot more going on than just "hanging out".

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Thoughts and images flowed through Rogue's head like running water through a stream.  Scenes of friends, laughter, a graduation, family, all things that Rogue had never experienced.  They weren't her memories.  No, they were hers, the person who Rogue was slowly draining the life away from.  She tried to hold in the tears in her eyes, but couldn't.  They began flowing out and started soaking her face, washing away all of the makeup that protected her.  _I can't believe I'm doing this.  I'm killing someone and how?  By just touching their face.  _She choked out more tears as she thought out the last thought.  Glancing at Carol, she knew she was in agony.  Who wouldn't be?  Someone was slowly, quite slowly, murdering her.  

But then Rogue got this feeling through her body.  She shuddered as something seemed to attach itself to every bone, every muscle, just everything in her.  Then Carol flopped to the ground.  Her eyes rolled back so you could only see the whites of her eyes.  Her mouth was wide open.  She was alive, but just barely.  However, something else was in Rogue.  The mind, the psyche of someone else was there, and it planned full well to get revenge.  The same deep voice now said, "The absorption is complete."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Well?  What'd you guys think?  PLEASE!  REVIEW!  I'll try to get more chapters up as soon as I can.    


	3. Who?

Again, thank you for reviewing!  I hope the story has gotten a little better.  I've never really written anything other than book reports and research projects, so if my writing's a little shoddy or iffy, it's because I've never really done much in the writing department.  Oh, this one will kind of emphasize on Rogue and Carol battling it out in Rogue's mind.  It's kind of a little weird, in my opinion anyway.  Maybe in some parts.  Unnecessary?  No.  I'd say it is necessary.  No Remy though :( .  Sorry, I really am.  But I promise, in fact I swear that the next one will have a lot of Remy.  Also, please read the note at the bottom when you're done with the story.      

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Rogue's head was pounding.  _Must find a way out.  Must find a way out._  "Congratulations Rogue," the deep voice that seemed to be running the place said, "you now have the ability to fly, super strength, and invulnerability, with just the touch of your hand."  Rogue couldn't speak.  Her thoughts as well as her new "roommate's" thoughts kept colliding.  She could barely distinguish hers from the other persons…what was her name again?  _My name is Carol Danvers_, a voice in her head replied.  Rogue jumped a little.  _What?_  

_You know, Carol Danvers, the one you killed?_  That last word rang in Rogue's head.  

_No, I didn't kill you._  Rogue heard a snort.  _Yeah, you didn't kill me, but I might as well be dead.  After all, I'm brain dead, aren't I?  My mind is your mind now…Rogue._

Rogue tried to push her back, push her back like she had done with all the other voices.  But it didn't work.  Carol was too strong.  

"Well Rogue?"  Mystique was now leering at her.  "What do you have to say for yourself?  You're not weak anymore.  None of the X-men will think you're weak or pitiful."  

Rogue's head shot up.  She and Carol were fighting over who was going to talk.  "How dare you!  You killed m—.  How could ya do this?  You were supposed tah be mah mother!"  That struck Mystique hard, very hard.  Her golden eyes widened until they were the size of headlights.  "How did you know?" she asked softly.  Then, more forcefully, "HOW DID YOU KNOW?"  

Rogue, having taken control of her mind at the moment replied, "I absorbed you, didn't I?  I absorbed your memories and your thoughts.  Of course I would know.  I'm not that dumb."  However, Mystique was still in shock.  She sank to the ground, murmuring, "No, no, no, this isn't happening…"

"Well you better believe it lady."  It was Carol talking now.  _Hey!  Let me talk, it's my body,_ Rogue yelled at Carol.  _And you took my life, so too bad,_ Carol shot back at her.  _Look, I know we aren't going to be the best of friends, but we—I mean I've, got to get out of here.  So, goodbye!_  Rogue was able to push Carol into a door and slammed it shut.  She could hear the pounding on the door and a slightly muffled voice.  _Good thing I've had enough sessions with the professor to do that_, she thought to herself, a bit pleased.  She knew though that it wouldn't hold up for long, so she had to act quickly.  

"Now," Magneto said, ignoring both Mystique and what Carol had said before, "there are a few other mutants that we will, ah…attend to.  They are…"  As he began to list them off, Rogue began struggling with her chains.  She noticed she was levitating about a foot off the ground.  _This must be the flying power he was yapping about._  Then, she realized that the chains were molded into the concrete wall.  This gave her an idea…

Magneto had also become aware that Rogue was struggling to get free.  "You may have super strength, but those chains are of adamantium.  Even for you they are impossible to break."

Rogue looked at him.  "So ya're sayin' Ah can't get free."

"That is exactly what I'm trying to get through to you."

"Well, ya're wrong!"  She flew fast, and upward.  As she flew, she pulled on her shackles, which pulled at the concrete, ripping a big chunk of the wall out.  But suddenly, her arms and legs were pulled back, sending her backwards.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The professor looked at the clock.  6:32.  Dinner was about to start and Rogue was still not back yet.  He decided to telepathically page Kitty.  ~Kitty?~

While Kitty was in her room, listening to music and singing off key to it, she heard the professor calling for her.  Embarrassed, she replied ~yes?~ 

~Did Rogue say she would be back by six or six thirty?~

~Six.~  She looked at her alarm clock.  It read 6:34.  ~Whoa.  She's, like, half an hour late.  Maybe she'll be back by 7.~

~Do you happen to know where she and Risty went?~

~No, I'm sorry, I don't.  Should we worry?~

~No, I'll use Cerebro to see if I can find any trace of her.~

He directed his wheel chair towards the elevator.  As he was almost there, he ran into Wolverine.  "Chuck, something wrong?"  He didn't understand why he was going to the lower levels at this time.  The training session didn't start until 8.  

"Rogue was supposed to be back by 6.  It's past 6:30 now."  

Wolverine grunted.  He knew that Rogue liked to hang out by herself and get away from the Institute once in a while.  He couldn't blame her, it did get annoying after a little bit.  "Mind if I come with you?"

"No, not at all."  He pushed a button that would take them down.

They reached the doorway to Cerebro and Wolverine got out of the way so the professor could do an iris scan.  As soon as he was confirmed and let in, he wheeled up to the instrument and put the helmet on.  He programmed it so it would cover only the city of Bayville.  Nothing.  _Hmm.  That's odd.  I don't believe Rogue would go anywhere out of town, especially if she said she'd be back by six.  I'll try a slightly larger area._  He made the area a bit bigger, put Cerebro at a higher level, and tried again.  Still, nothing.  _Now, this is strange.  Rogue usually doesn't go beyond these boundaries, at least, not to my knowledge._  He finally made the border cover all of eastern New York and put Cerebro at full power.  Nothing.  Now, the professor was getting suspicious.  _Although she is harder to find, with other people's thoughts running around in her head, Cerebro is usually able to locate her.  Something is wrong._  He turned his wheel chair around and headed towards the metal doors.  They opened automatically and Wolverine immediately asked, "Well, have you found her?" 

"No, I could not locate her anywhere on the entire coastline of New York.  She has either absorbed someone else or something has been put in place."

"You mean like some kind of machine that messes up psychic waves?"

"Yes.  Right now I'm debating whether or not we should gather the whole team to search for Rogue.  Usually, we have some idea of where someone is.  At this moment, we do not, so I'm afraid we would have to search the entire state of New York if we want to find her.  Unless…"  Xavier looked at Wolverine, "someone could track her down by scent."  

"I'm on it."  He hurried down the hallway and changed into his uniform.  _If anything's happened to her…someone's going to get sliced and diced.  _ 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  

"Fool!  Did you really believe you could escape?"

The metal chains began to bind her tightly.  However, she was invulnerable, so it did not have too serious of an effect.  He pulled her in so that she was only a half a foot away from his face.  "What do ya want with meh? You know you can't control meh if you force me ta absorb too many mutants."

Magneto's cold gray eyes narrowed.  "This is how I will be controlling you."  He tugged on the adamantium chains for effect.  "There is no way you will be able to flee when I am in control."  He pulled her even closer so that their eyes were only inches away from each other.  CRUNNSHK!  There was a sound of metal being crushed and a skull being pounded.  Magneto had fallen to the ground, crimson red blood flowing out of his nose and below his eye.  He was unconscious.  The chains that bound Rogue were now loose and she made her getaway.  Avalanche tried to stop her by making the walls thunder, but she flew, and flew, and flew, and CRASH!  She blasted through a piece of concrete.  And so she went, out into the night sky, almost laughing.  She was free!  She almost could not believe what she had just done.  _Yup, the old geezer made a mistake.  A big mistake, pulling me so close that my face so that I could feel him breathing.  He never saw it coming._  She smiled as she recalled how she had used her head, literally.  The only part not bound up in the shackle was her neck and head.  Combined with her super strength and slightly heightened speed, she was able to whack her head against his with such force, she knocked him out cold.  But her grin faded as she realized something.  _How am I going to get these off?  _

Carol watched from Rogue's eyes.  How she was so happy, free, and flying at that.  Flying with her power.  That was what made Carol see red.  It wasn't Rogue's power that got her out of that prison, it was her power.  _I'll get you back for all of this Rogue.  That's one thing I'll promise._  Carol paused for a minute.  She had pummeled the door for a good while now.  She only stopped when Rogue was trying to escape.  If she was able to get out, that meant no more people in Rogue's head, God knew that there were already too many.  But now, she had to resume.  She had to demolish it and take over Rogue's body.  She had to.  It was the only thing she could do for retribution.  _Good thing this wasn't really sturdy to begin with_, she thought as she began to beat away, _I should be able to finish this in no time_.  And with one swift kick and punch, she knocked it down.  Carol grinned.  _Now, who's going to be in charge?_  She began to flood Rogue's mind.  

As Rogue was happily flying towards the institute along the coastline, she felt Carol coming back, and with a vengeance.  _Oh no, _she thought.  Suddenly, something like a tsunami came and swept Rogue away, and out of control.  _AAAAAAAAAUUUUUUGGGGGGHHHHH!!!_  She gasped for air, clawing at the water, trying to catch her breath.  It all seemed so real, even if it was only in her mind.  Abruptly, Carol kicked her out of the way.  _It's my turn now._

Rogue began to start fuming.  _No it isn't!_  She grabbed Carol and threw her against the wall.  _Have to get back to the Institute.  Have to get back to the Institute so I can get this psycho out of my head._  A luminous mansion was now in sight.  Rogue was so glad to see it that her heart nearly stopped beating.  She flew at full speed towards it until yet another power change occurred.  Carol was now struggling with Rogue, again.  _Just get out of my head!_ Rogue screamed at her.  She was holding her head.  It was driving her crazy now.  _We are not going anywhere you want to go,_ Carol said, _I am not going to let you have anything after what you've done to me!_  Rogue couldn't take it anymore.  They were practically on the lawn, so…  "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, she only hoped someone inside would be able to hear…

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Everyone at the Institute was sitting in the gathering area.  The professor had told them how he suspected Rogue was either taken, or disappeared.  Wolverine went out scouting where they had seen her last, at school, but he lost her scent on the road.  They were all shocked.  Rogue?  How could she be abducted?  She was the one with the touch of death.  If anyone could kill with their powers, it'd be Rogue, well, with the exception of Wolverine.  Kitty was especially upset.  Though Rogue hadn't exactly been the best roommate, she had kind of grown close to her.  And now, she was gone.  But then, outside, there was a blood curdling scream.  "AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!"  Everyone jumped.  They all turned to see Rogue, floating a few feet above the ground, holding her head, as in pain, and still in chains.  "Everyone out!" growled Wolverine.  Everyone ran out while Kurt ported out.  "What's going on with Rogue?" asked Evan.  

"Don't know, but it ain't looking too good," Wolverine said as he looked up at Rogue.  

"Okay, guys, we have to get her down."  Scott was in commander mode.  "Jean, try to bring her down with your TK."

"I'm on it."  Jean closed her eyes and concentrated.  She used all her strength to bring her down, used her powers to their fullest extent, but barely anything happened.  "Scott, I can't.  She's…I don't know, she's a lot stronger."

Scott began to get frustrated as nothing was happening.  "Kurt, port up there and port back down."

" 'K Cyke."  Kurt was about to disappear when a voice rang through all their heads.  It was Xavier.  ~Don't worry.  I have this one.  Someone is attacking Rogue's mind right now and I will see what I can do.~  He faded out of their minds as he entered Rogues.  What he first saw startled him.  He saw two women, Rogue and Carol, pounding each other to bits.  _Haven't I taught her anything?_ he wondered.  But he wasn't here to ask questions or scold.  He was here to put an end to all of this.  _Hello.  Ms. Danvers, isn't it?_  Carol looked up, and what she saw was a bald man looking at her quite curiously.  _What do you want?_ she snarled.  

_I am sorry to tell you this, but to put you away, forever._   He focused all his energy on her.  All of a sudden, something like plaster, or cement began to cover all over her.  _No, NO!  What are you doing to me?_ she screamed at Xavier.  _I told you before,_ Xavier said calmly, _to put you away so Rogue can live a peaceful life without you tormenting her._  

_But she's the one who killed me.  SHE'S THE ONE WHO KILLED ME!!!  _Carol was hysterical now as she was enveloped by the thick, sticky substance, which hardened and turned her into a statue.  She was silent now.  Xavier then encaged her in a metal box, quite similar to the one Rogue had been trapped in not too long ago.  He completed this in a matter of minutes, and as he finished, he looked at Rogue, who was staring at him in complete shock.  _Rogue, it's over.  She won't bother you anymore.  And if she does, I'll be here to help.  We will still be continuing our sessions, especially because of this._  Rogue looked at him, and smiled.  A genuine smile of gratefulness and respect, which was quite uncommon coming from her.  _Now, if you do not mind, could you kindly tell us all where you have been?_  Rogue nodded and Xavier at last left her mind.  

As he left, she only then noticed she was about twenty feet above the air with the entire X-Men team, sans Storm, surrounding her below her.  "AAAAHHHH!!!" she shrieked as she plummeted down to the ground.  She fell on the ground, leaving a good-sized dent in the grass.  But instead of getting up, she just sat there, feeling guilty and ashamed.  Though she was eternally grateful for what the professor had done, she still felt horrible.  She had killed someone.  She killed someone with her bare hands.  Wolverine grunted.  "Come on, let's go in so stripes can explain what happened to her."  Everyone nodded without saying a word, at least before Kitty jumped up and hugged Rogue.  "Like, oh my God!  We thought you were, like, dead or something.  And it's, like, so cool that you can fly, or whatever you did."  

Rogue looked down and whispered, "But it's not my power."  She still could not stop thinking of what she did today.  It continued to bother her.  _It's only because of her powers that I was able to get out._  And it was only then when Rogue noticed she was still in bound in chains.  "Uh…professor?" Rogue asked, "I think we still have a problem." 

Everyone turned to look at her.  It finally dawned on all of them that she was still dragging around shackles, which looked fairly heavy.  "No problem."  A _SHINK_ could be heard coming from Wolverine as he prepared to cut the chains into pieces.  He couldn't wait to slice something up.  "Wait, Wolverine…" Rogue didn't have a chance to finish before they all heard the _ping_ of metal colliding.  Everybody looked confused, especially Wolverine, he was completely surprised.  "What the hell?" he muttered.  

"It's made of adamantium.  Same stuff your claws are made of," Rogue answered him, "Ah think the only way to manually get me out is ta get a key."  She pointed to two miniscule holes on her bracelet/bindings.  "Unless…someone could phase me through or port me out of them."  She looked at Kitty and Kurt.  "Well, like, duh," Kitty slapped her forehead, "That was like, so dumb."  She grabbed Rogue's arm and made themselves intangible.  Rogue always did like the strange, tingly sensation she got when Kitty would phase her through stuff.  A second later, the chains fell to the ground with a heavy _CLUNK!_  They stepped away from the pile of metal and Kitty let go of Rogue's arm.  

They finally reached the room where they all gathered.  At long last, Rogue began to tell her story…  She told them how Risty was really Mystique, how she, and the Brotherhood had taken her away, and how they used her drain away almost all of Carol Danver's life away.  She couldn't look at anybody's eyes as she told this.  She was feeling ashamed and tears, yet again in that same day, began to fill her eyes.  But she held them back.  _I can't let them see me cry.  Remember?  I'm the ice queen._  She blinked and held them back with all her might.    

"But Rogue, how did you get out?" Kurt asked, his tail whipping around in interest.  So she began talking again, about how she now had her new powers and what they were, how Magneto pulled her close enough to him for her to bash her head against his, and how she flew out.  Finally, she came to an end with the whole thing with the professor.  "Ah'm sorry professor, but Ah forgot tah thank you.  Thank you so much."  

"Your very welcome Rogue.  Now, I suggest that all of you go to sleep.  We have an early morning danger room session tomorrow since we've missed tonight's, for obvious reasons.  Oh, and Rogue, we will be running some tests on your new powers as well and be going deeper in our sessions."  Rogue nodded.  "Well then." the professor looked at all of them.  They all got the message and went to their rooms.  

"Wow, that must have been, like, some night." Kitty said to her roommate.  

"Yeah, it was," Rogue replied absentmindedly.  She was too tired to think about anything now.  All she wanted to do was get some sleep.  When they got in their room, Rogue changed, really quickly, before plopping on her bed and trying to get some sleep.  Kitty, who was just as tired as Rogue, fell asleep soon after.  But Rogue couldn't.  There was still a feeling inside of her, a sickening feeling that still haunted her.  She had killed someone.  Even if she had barely missed killing Carol, she was still as good as dead.  She closed her eyes as she saw images of Carol's life, a never-ending reminder of what she had done.  Though she was exhausted, she couldn't sleep.  After about an hour, she decided to go up to the roof, where she had gone many times before when she couldn't sleep.  This time, it was much easier, for obvious reasons, and as she sat on the cool, gray covering, she began to bawl her eyes out.  

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I know, I know.  This definitely is not one of my best chapters.  It kind of dragged on, didn't it?  I must admit that it was sort of boring.  But I felt it was kind of necessary, and hopefully, hopefully, the next chapters will not be like this.  But please review!  This is one chapter where I really want your opinion.  I'm begging all of you!  PLEASE!  I'm on my knees, graveling.  Ok, that's enough now.  Oh, and I know, my sound effects weren't all that great.  Like I said before, NOT ONE OF MY BEST CHAPTERS.    


	4. When?

To you guys out there, don't worry, Carol will be back.  She hasn't just up and died just yet; remember, she's only locked up in Rogue's mind.  Given time, she will be able to break out of her "shell".  If you've watched the original cartoon with the Phoenix, you'll know what I mean.  Now, as I promised, this chapter will be focusing more on Remy, but not all of it.  

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Storm had just gotten off the phone with Xavier.  Her heart went out to Rogue, who had just went through, in her opinion, an incredibly traumatic experience.  _Goddess, please help her,_ she thought,_ after all, the poor girl already has enough on her plate as it is._  Storm went back and thought about how Rogue was so drawn back, afraid she'd hurt someone.  _Yes, I don't believe I would have the strength to live the life she has to._  But she couldn't think about that at the moment.  Today, she would have to help Remy get ready to leave for the Institute, which they would be doing in a day or two.  Storm was actually a little surprised that he was going so willingly, which made her wonder, _What made him change his mind so soon?_

As she began walking down the lavishly decorated hallway, she bumped into Remy, who was joking around with his best friend, Henri.  "Bonjour Stormy," he greeted her as he saw her coming his way.  

"Good morning Remy," she replied, then reminded him, "remember to pack up your things.  We're leaving in a day or so."

"O' course."  There was a slight sadness in his voice as he said that.  He was torn between whether he wanted to go with Storm or to stay in New Orleans.  Of course, he wanted to stay here with his loved ones, but at the same time, he wanted them to stay alive, and him staying around wouldn't really help.  He sighed as he headed into his room, where he began to pack his clothes, which he just dumped into a suitcase.  "We goin' t' miss y' Remy, y' know dat, right?" Henri asked quizzically.  Then he grinned as he said, " 'Specially de femmes at school, non?"  He knew that his cousin always had a way with women, seducing them, flirting with them, and was always able to get his way with them.  _Always the ladies man_ he thought, shaking his head.  "What y' laughin' 'bout, homme?"  Remy looked suspiciously at Henri.  

"Nothin' Remy, nothin'.  Gotta ask y' somethin' dough.  Why y' goin' if y' don' wan' t'?  Y' know y' pere won' force y' t'." 

Remy sighed heavily.  " 'Cuz if I don', someone goin' t' be hurt.  Y' know Tante is still alive 'cuz o' you, y' know dat?"

"Accidents happen."

"Then Remy be a big accident."

Henri gave up on this discussion.  He knew that nothing was going to stand between Remy keeping his family and friends safe, so he changed the subject.  "So, y' know when you're goin' t' be leavin'?"

"Couple days, accordin' t' Stormy."

"Well…" he said as he looked around the room to make sure no one was looking, "here's an early g'bye."  He gave a bear hug to his cousin, which caught him in surprise.  Remy's eyes widened in shock.  As he recovered, he joked, "Better not let anyone know you're getting' soft.  Dey be t'inkin' you be sleepin' wit teddy bears next."

"Shut up!"  A punch landed on Remy's arm as they both began to laugh, enjoying the time they had left.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"You wanted me to stay after Wolverine?" Rogue questioned as the rest of the X-Men headed towards the shower.  

"Yeah, the prof and I wanted to test out your new abilities.  We'll try to examine each of your abilities to see what their fullest extents are so far.  You know, weight lifting, calculating your flight speed…that stuff.  Sound easy enough?" Wolverine asked as he stood in the booth above.  Rogue nodded.  "Good, 'cause we're starting right now.  Computer, run program 10 x and record everything you find."  As he finished saying all this, all sorts of contraptions popped out and waited for an attack.  "All right, see start out with those androids to the east."  There were some spider like robots to the side, all spiky and deadly looking.  "We're going to see how long it's going to take you to take 'em down.  Start now."  He pressed a couple buttons and they all headed towards her.  Rogue flew towards them, averted their strikes, grabbed one's leg, lifted it, and threw it directly at another one, where they got crushed into a heap of metal.  She did the same to another, and another, and another, until there were none left.  

"Not bad stripes, only took you a minute and 14 seconds.  Now, we're going to test out your strength."  As if on cue, one gigantic metal ball rolled out of a hole, which closed up as soon as it let it out.  "All you have to do is lift it up."  Rogue looked at it and nearly fainted when she saw the size of it.  _He expects me to lift that thing up, even with my new powers?  *Stolen powers…stolen powers…*_  Rogue shook her head and tried to ignore the comment._  Can't think about that right now…_  So she continued to concentrate on the situation at hand._   That thing's probably three times bigger than Blob!_  She stared at it some more before she sighed and headed towards it.  She rubbed her hands, let out a quick breath, and lifted it up.  She was surprised at how relatively light it was.  Almost like lifting up a heavy box.  "Ok, now let it down gent—…"  There was a huge _CRASH!_ before he could finish his sentence.  The ball Rogue had lifted up was now sitting in a nicely sized dent it had made.  "Whoops, sorry," she said sheepishly to Wolverine who was now rubbing his knuckles into his head.  "Never mind that.  Just have to determine your flight speed, so fly past that thing over there," he pointed to a strange looking machine sticking out of the wall, "at your top speed."  Since Rogue wanted to get all of this over with, she flew, as fast and as hard as she could, past it.  

There was a _whirr_ sound at the computer as it let out the speed, miles per hour, feet per second…  Wolverine could only stare at it.  _Damn!  These speeds are off the charts and she doesn't even have total control over her powers yet.  I've got to tell Chuck this._  He then said, " 'K stripes, you can go now."  

A _whoosh_ could be heard as Rogue flew past the doors and to the elevator.  

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Have you got everything?"

"Yes."

"We're leaving tomorrow."

"Remy knows Stormy, Remy knows."  He began to throw more things into his bags as time ticked by.  _Well, this is it.  I'm going to leave everything behind.  Everything bad, and everything good._  Deep in his heart, he wished he didn't have to go, but at the same time, he wanted to go.  He wasn't quite sure what he really wanted to do anymore.  _Damn it!  Why can't things be easy anymore?_ he thought angrily, unaware that he had just charged a pair of socks.  It took him a couple seconds to realize that his footwear was about to blow up, threw them to the side, and ducked.  _BOOM!_  He looked to his left to see his desk shattered into pieces.  "Merde," he muttered, "Maybe I be making de right decision."  

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"There you are!  Could you pleeeaaaseee clean up your side of the room?  It is, like, so messy," Kitty said to her roommate as she walked in.  Then she noticed something.  Rogue wasn't wearing any makeup.  "Oh my God!  Like, where's your makeup?  And why do your wear it anyway?  I mean, you look good without it."

"Just trying something different," Rogue replied casually as she sat down on her bed.  The truth was, not only had Rogue absorbed Carol's thoughts, memories, and powers, she had also absorbed her personality.  _This is so weird.  I want to wear it, but at the same time, I don't like it anymore.  Fuck you Carol, why couldn't you've liked to be withdrawn instead so fucking happy all the time?  And fuck Magneto and the Brotherhood for making me absorb you.  Wait, how can I think like this?  I can't…I shouldn't be allowed to…I…I…  _  

"Well, since you, like, changed that, how about we change your clothes, your hair…" Kitty went on as she listed off all the things they could do with the "new" her.  

But Rogue had had enough.  With the frustration of what happened to her and the guilt she was still dealing with, she could not tolerate things as much as she used to.  "Look," she snapped, "Just because Ah'm not wearing any makeup doesn't mean Ah want ta be treated lahk a Barbie doll where you can just dress and undress me without me giving a shit."

Kitty wasn't all too taken back, she had had experiences like this before.  "But we could do so much!"

"And Ah don't want to."  Rogue stormed out, leaving a very upset Kitty.  _I just wish people here would leave me alone.  I just want to be alone!  How can anyone still want to hang around me after what I've done?_  With that, she flew up towards the roof, where she wanted to sit and think.  But before she got a chance to sit down and wallow in self-pity and self-hatred, a voice called to all of them.  

~If you all do not mind, could all of you meet in the gathering area?  I would like to inform you all on our newest recruit who is due to arrive tomorrow.~  It was the professor.

As soon as they went downstairs and sat down, the professor began to talk.  "As you all know, Storm has went to New Orleans to ask a new mutant to join us here.  He has the ability to charge objects up with kinetic energy."  Seeing that they were all bewildered, he explained, "He has the ability to make things blow up."  

Immediately, the boys eyes lit up.  "Really?  That's so cool!" said Evan excitedly.  

"Ya.  Zhat's really tight," added Kurt.  

"Anyway…" the professor continued, "he has had some trouble in the past and is a bit uncomfortable with part of his mutation which he has had his whole life.  Kurt, I believe you can relate to this…"  Kurt's eyes shot up.  "His eyes are red on black, and of course, is a bit sensitive to this fact.  I hope you treat him with the same respect that you have treated Kurt.  That is all."  He rolled away and left the teenagers to talk with in themselves.  "Rogue, you washed off all your makeup," said Scott, noticing the dramatic change.  

"Yeah, so?  It's just stuff you put on your face.  Why is everyone making such a big deal about this anyway?" she asked, annoyed that this was the only thing they could talk about.  

"Because, it's so…so…different," replied Evan, "a good different though."

"Well, I don't see what's so weird," she said before walking away in frustration.  

"Why are you mak—." 

"Scott, let it go," Jean said softly, "she's going through a hard time.  She just needs some time alone."  

"But she doesn't need to take it out on us, all we did was talk about how different she looked."

"No, Jean's right," Kitty said timidly, "I kind of forgot about what happened to her too.  I guess she's not really in the mood to socialize with anyone right now, but I wish we could help her somehow."

"I don't know Kitty, I sense that she doesn't really want anybody's help right now."    

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 Storm knocked on Remy's door.  Although no one answered, she knew that he was in there.  "Remy?  It's Ororo, may I come in?"  She heard a grunt, which she took permission to enter.  When she opened the door, she saw a young man who looked like he was about to attend a funeral.  "Remy, it's not going to be that bad."  

"Leavin' m' family seems bad 'nough t' me."

"Then why are you going?"

_Argghh, not again.  How many times have I been asked this?  And how many times must I remind myself?_  "Because, if Remy don't go, he goin' t' end up killing someone."  

"Remy," Storm said softly, but reassuringly, "you're going to see your family again.  We're going to help you in any way we can, so don't worry.  I'm sure you'll make many new friends at the institute.  In fact, you'll probably end up charming yourself into their hearts like you have into mine."  

He smiled as she said this.  "O' course Remy is goin' t'.  Always has, hasn't he?"  He flashed her a charming grin as he said this, the first she had seen since he had agreed to move to New York.  

Storm laughed.  This is the old Remy she knew, so charming and sure of himself.  "Oh Remy, cocky as always."

"Non, never cocky.  Jus' confident and self assured." 

"So, are you ready to go?"

Remy took one long, deep breath before replying, "Yes."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I don't care if you want to kill me and then use my liver as a piece of art in your room.  I just want you to REVIEW!  Don't care if you hate it, don't care if you love it.  Criticism is always welcome.  Just review!  


	5. Why?

Thank you again for reviewing!  I love hearing what you guys think, so keep them coming!  And finally, after much waiting…Remy and Rogue meet and the flirtation begins, much to Rogue's demise.     

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Rogue sat on the railing of the balcony.  She sighed as she thought _I really don't deserve to live like this, do I?  Everyone says what happened wasn't my fault, but I still feel like it is.  No matter how many sessions with the professor I've had, I still can't get over it.  Why did this have to happen to me?  Why does everything bad  happen to me?_  

Little did Rogue know, as she was mentally beating herself up, there was someone watching her, watching her every move and listening to her every thought.  She didn't realize that Carol was not yet "dead".  She was still watching her and everything she did, waiting to make her move…waiting for that perfect moment…  

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"We're almost there Remy.  In fact, look over there to your right," Storm pointed out a slight whitish brown bump in the distance, "that's the institute."

" 'K.  Y' sure dat Remy goin' t' be alright?"

"As long as you don't get on the Wolverine's bad side, then yes."

"Wolverine?  We goin' t' a zoo or a school?"

"Oh, that's just his codename, we all have one, except Jean and Rogue."

Remy's eyes glowed.  "Jean?  She be a femme, non?"

"Yes, she is a girl, but don't flirt with them all at once.  You do have quite a while to do that."  Storm looked at him with careful eyes knowing full well that he was going to charm his way into every girl's heart.  

" 'Course not, 'course not," Remy said as he grinned widely.  _Maybe this won't be as a bad as I thought.  _  

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

~Could all of you come down here for a moment?~ the professor telepathically asked his students, ~Storm is about to arrive with the new recruit and I'd like to introduce you all to him.~

Everyone stopped what they were doing and headed towards the gathering area and waited for further instruction.  A loud _ROAR_ could be heard as blackbird settled into the landing strip.  Most of the kids started talking excitedly about the new recruit.  "I wonder what he's like."  "Do you think that he's cute?"  "I hope he's not an annoying ass hole."  Rogue rolled her eyes as she listened to all the jabbering.  _God, what's so special anyway?  Is it always like this when someone new comes?  Who cares?  It's just another person living in this freak house.  As long as this person doesn't bother me, I'll be perfectly fine with whoever he is._  She sighed and leaned back, not knowing that this person would not grant her the wish of being left alone, in fact, giving her the exact opposite…

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Remy had already found the institute quite impressive.  As they were entering what appeared to be a waterfall, it turned into a long, metallic, landing post.  When he and Storm had finally gotten off the plane and headed towards an elevator, they had passed many strange rooms, which, Storm explained, would be used for training.  Finally, they reached the corridor, which led them to a gathering room where all the other mutants were waiting.  

"Ah, Storm, it's nice to have you back," the professor said while Evan gave her a hug.  "Hey Auntie O!"

"Yes, it is nice to be back in New York," she replied as she brushed away a long strand of white hair.  

The professor turned his attention to the person behind Storm.  Smiling, he introduced himself, "You must be Remy LeBeau.  I am Charles Xavier and I would like to welcome you to our school for the gifted."  

Remy nodded and shook the professor's hand, which he had extended.  "Pleasure t' meet y'."  The others had now stood up, waiting to be introduced.  The professor began to name off the people behind him.  "This is Logan…" Logan grunted and shook Remy's hand, "Scott…" Scott gave a very strained and robotic-like handshake, "Kitty…" she giggled as he kissed her hand, "Kurt…" Kurt looked a little wary.  He knew that if he shook Remy's hand, he would feel only three fingers and a furry hand.  Looking pleadingly at the professor, Xavier spoke up, "Remy, as you know, we are all mutants, and of course, we all have mutations.  Now, like you, Kurt has a mutation that affects his appearance, making him blue and furry."  As the professor said this, Kurt turned off his image inducer, revealing the "demonic" Kurt.  Remy just stared at him.  _I guess Stormy was right, people here do know what it's like to be…different._  With that, he grinned and shook Kurt's hand, who in turn gave him a smile.  The professor continued, "Now, this is Evan…" the two of them shook hands, "Jean…" Remy kissed her hand as he had kissed Kitty's, causing Jean to blush a bit, "…and Rogue."  

Though he didn't even look twice at Kurt, Remy had to do a double take on Rogue.  _*This* was Rogue?_  _I thought it would be a boy, with that name anyway._  But he shook the thought off and reached for her hand.  But before he could kiss it, like he had to Kitty and Jean, she pulled her hand away.  Her heart was pounding.  _No, I can't let him come close; I can't let anyone come close, not after what happened.  I have to be more careful than ever._  Her attitue quickly changed.  She looked hard at him.   _Hmmphh, that guy thinks he's so great, doesn't he?_ _Probably lures girls to him like a Toad does to flies, _she thought.

Remy raised an eyebrow.  _Chere doesn't like friendly handshakes?_  No girl had ever done this before, which puzzled him, for a second, anyway.  Then he noticed a beautiful, clear face framed by white strands of hair with bright, hypnotizing green eyes, glaring at him fiercely.  He grinned.  He was always up for the challenge, wasn't he?  Before he was able to say anything, Xavier started explaining each of their powers.  "Wolverine has an adamantium skeleton and incredible healing powers, Scott has optic blasts that come out of his eyes…" and so on.  

When he finally came to Rogue, Remy listened intently.  "Rogue has the ability to absorb a person's thoughts, memories, physical abilities, and in a mutant's case, powers, when she has skin to skin contact with a person.  In performing this, the person she is "draining" will have their energy slowly taken away, resulting in a coma or…" he was unable to go on.  The professor already knew he was treading on thin ice and knew that Rogue had always been sensitive about her powers; now more than ever.  However, Remy understood what he was talking about and sensed he should leave it at that.  _So that's why she pulled her hand away.  Makes sense now.  Doesn't really explain why she glared at me so hard._  

"Storm, could you please show Remy where his room is?  It is the one right next to Scott's."  She nodded and motioned for Remy to follow.  As they headed up the stairs, and out of earshot of everyone below, Storm spoke.  "Rogue also has the ability to fly, super strength, and invulnerability.  She…acquired them one day when she was kidnapped by a "rival" mutant group called the Brotherhood.  They took her and used her to absorb the life and powers out of another mutant.  That is why it was such a touchy subject."  Storm looked at Remy, knowing that she, Rogue, caught his attention.  "She also does not have control over her "original" powers and we suspect she never will."  

After she finished talking, Remy said, "Y' know dat won' stop m', right?  All dis only makes it more interestin', more o' a challenge, an' y' know' how Remy is always up f'r a challenge."  His eyes, though hidden under sunglasses, twinkled.

Storm sighed.  There was no changing her young friend's flirtatious ways.  "I know, I just wanted to give you a head's up.  But be warned, if you hurt her, you will have made many enemies."  As he opened his mouth to speak, she added, "Although you have had assassins as enemies, I don't believe you have ever had people with mutant powers on your tail."  

"I doubt you will impress her Remy.  She tends to be withdrawn and prefers to be alone, though I doubt this will even change your mind.  I just…I just don't want to see you, nor her, to get hurt."

Remy placed his hand on the door and opened it.  "Don' worry, Remy doesn't get hurt."  With that, he went in and started unpacking.  

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

"So, like, what do you think of him?" Kitty asked Rogue as they headed up the stairs and towards their room.  

"He's a jerk," she replied, walking angrily.

"How can you, like, tell?  I mean, he didn't even say anything to you.  He tried to kiss your hand, but you, like, pulled it away."

"Hmmm……let's see.  Recently, Ah nearly killed someone by touching them, touching them with mah bare hand.  Ah wonder *why* Ah would be so jumpy when someone touches me?  Ah don't know Kitty, what about you?" 

"Well, sorry.  I…well, I…I don't know why you were so mean to him!"

"I didn't do anything to him!"

"Yeah, like, except glare him down."

" 'Cuz he's a jerk!  Come on Kitty, who kisses your hand when you're introduced tah someone?  Only chauvinistic pigs who think they can charm and sweet talk their way into everythin'!" 

"You are, like, reading waaaay into this."

"No Ah'm not."  

"Yes you are, and anyway, I think he, like, likes you."

"No he doesn't."

"Whatever, I think he does."  Kitty phased through the door and started doing her homework.  

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

Remy began wandering around the premises of the institute.  He enjoyed spending his times outside; it gave him a sense of freedom and no limitations, and perhaps the fact he could pickpocket some cash could also be a reason, but here, it was just cool, clean air.  As he enjoyed the view of the ocean, he noticed something.  Behind a tree trunk, there was a wave of auburn hair with a wisp of white.  He remembered her as the girl Storm was talking about.  _Rogue, was it?_  He smirked.  _Now's a good a time as any to get to know people, non?_  

He stealthily crept up to the tree before leaning against it and greeting her.  " 'Allo chere."  

Rogue felt dread flooding through her blood.  She turned around and looked up to see the face of the charming Cajun.  "Can Ah help you?"

"Ah, a southern belle?"

"And if Ah am, swamp rat?"

Remy looked at her indignantly.  "Dis be no swamp rat, dis be Cajun Remy."

"Whatevah you say swamp rat."

"Chere given Remy a name o' endearment?"

Rogue began to get frustrated.  "If ya don't leave meh alone, Ah'll call you a lot of names, and not of endearment!"

"Y' have t' ask nicely," he said teasingly.  

"Forget it."  She hovered up, and flew away.  _Damn him, why does he have to bother me?  Couldn't he bug Jean or Kitty?  He knows what will happen if he gets too close, so why me?  WHY ME?_  

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It cracked.  A slight opening.  Little by little it will wear away.  

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

Rogue flew to the roof, hoping that she would be able to be alone up there.  _He better not come up here.  I really want to finish this Anne Rice novel._  Unfortunately for her, this would not be the case.  

"Chere can't get away dat easily," Remy said as he climbed out a window.  "Y' gonna have t' pick a better hidin' spot.  Remy saw y' all de way from de tree."  

"The point was tah get away from you," she replied, trying as hard as she could to restrain herself from throwing him off the roof, "and why do you speak in third person?"

He shrugged nonchalantly.  "No reason.  Maybe be a Cajun t'ing."  

"Now, could ya leave me alone?"

"Non, couldn' give y' de pleasure o' dat."

Rogue glared at him with her piercing emerald eyes.  As she was glowered at him, he joked, "Seems like y' can't keep y' eyes off Remy."  

That comment made her look away and fly away, this time, knocking on the window/door of her room, where Kitty opened it and let her in.  "You know, there are such things as doors."  

"Yeah?  You ever use them?  You know, actually turnin' the door knob?" asked Rogue, just wanting a place to read.  

"Why were you outside anyway?"

"Trynna read. He keeps buggin' me though."

"You mean Remy?"

"Yeah."

Kitty smiled gleefully.  "See?  I, like, told you!  He totally likes you."

"Well Ah wonder what did it for him, the bitchiness, or the deadly skin?"  As she said that, there was a slight knock on their window.  Sitting on the balcony was a young man with a bewitching smile on his face.  Rogue punched her pillow.  "Shit!  Does he have ta follow me lahk that?"  She noticed Kitty heading for the window.  "Don't let him in!"

"Why not?"

" 'Cuz he's annoyin'."

"No he isn't."  She opened the door-like window.  

"Merci p'tite."  He thanked Kitty and was about to speak to Rogue, but she had already taken off.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Rogue flew down the stairs and headed towards the only place where she knew no one would bug her, _especially that creep._  She knocked on a door where Wolverine opened it.  "What do ya want, stripes?"  

"Can Ah read in your room?"

He looked at her closely.  Was she trying to pull some kind of prank on him?  _No, she's not here to do that.  Looks pretty desperate._  "Why?"

" 'Cuz the swamp rat won't leave meh alone."  

His eyebrows furrowed together.  _That damn kid.  I'll show him who not to mess with.  I don't care if 'Ro's close to him, he needs to be straightened out._  "Fine, go in.  I'll make sure he won't bother you."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Well…what did you guys think?  Like I've said before, this is a Remy/Rogue fic, not a Logan/Rogue.  Who could ever think of such a thing?  Sorry to L/R fans out there, but who could?  He's old enough to be her great-great grandfather, isn't he?  And I know that Rogue is really, really beating herself up over the whole Carol thing, but when you kill someone, even if it's unintentional and forced, you'd have a huge load of guilt on you.  Was the crack and opening part a mistake?  No, it wasn't.  If you already know, then good for you!  If you don't, wait and see… 


	6. How come?

Well thank you for reviewing!  I hope you liked how the Remy/Rogue relationship is played out.  If you don't…tell me!  Kind of sucked how ff.net couldn't let us upload, huh?  Remember what I said about the third chapter being my worst?  Well, forget that, this one is.  *This* is my worst one.    

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

_Hmmm…I wonder where chere went?_ Remy thought as he walked down the grand staircase.  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a hunched figure walking his way.  Mind you, it wasn't a very happy looking figure either.  As it came closer, Remy was able to distinguish it as Logan, the one who had an ada-something skeleton.  He decided this was as good a person to ask where Rogue was, though he had no idea how wrong he was.  "Monsieur, you wouldn' happen t' know where Remy can find Rogue, do y'?"  

Wolverine, being a foot shorter than Remy, looked up and growled, shoving him against the wall. "Look, bub, if ya mess with her again, you're gonna have a few things stickin' out of your head."  He brought his fist up and added the _SHINK!_ of his claws for effect.  

" 'K, 'k, Remy get de picture." 

Wolverine let go of him and withdrew his claws, satisfied with the job he did.  "You better get the picture, gumbo," he snarled before walking away.    

"Dat never stopped Remy before," he muttered, sauntering in a different direction.  But as he was walking to his room, he couldn't help but think _Shit!  This will be harder than I thought.  But Remy never gives up, does he?_  He grinned and headed inside his room, thinking of how he could win the heart of the coldhearted southern belle.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Later that day, in the danger room, Remy was demonstrating his power to the rest of the team.  He took out a card from his pocket, "charged" it, threw it up in the air, and watched it explode.  "Impressive," said the professor, watching the card being obliterated, "tell me, do you happen to "charge", as you call it, unintentionally?  

Remy looked at the ground, slightly embarrassed, "Yes."

"I see," Xavier put his chin on his hands, "in any case, let's see how well you can fare in some of our simulations.  I believe Storm has said that you have been trained in some martial arts before hand?" 

"Yes, f'r thievin'."

"Thieving?" 

"Y' know, pick pocketin', dat kind o' t'ing."  

"All right…" the professor decided it was a thing he was better off not knowing about, "Well then, you will join everyone else in this simulation.  It will give us an idea on how well you know how to use your powers.  Have you picked out a code name yet?"

"Gambit, 'cuz I enjoy takin' risks," he said as he smirked.   

"Do you need any objects to, er, charge?"

"Non, got m' cards," he pulled out a deck and began shuffling them.  

"Good, now team," he turned to face the young mutants, "this will be an obstacle type course.  Use your powers to get from one end to another.  No teleporting or phasing your way to the end though," he looked at Kurt and Kitty, who knew better than to protest.  "And also, you will have a time limit of ten minutes.  Scott, if you would like to, you could give a small talk before we start."  Xavier rolled out of the danger room and up to the observation booth. 

"Okay guys, you heard what the professor said, we only have ten minutes, so Jean, shield us from blasts, Spyke, Gambit, and I will try to take down as many droids as we can, Rogue, take down as many things as you can, and Shadowcat and Nightcrawler, keep an eye out, so you can pull one of us out if we're in trouble.  Got it?"  Everyone nodded.  "Ok then," Scott gave a thumbs up towards the booth above.  

The computer created the illusion of pieces of equipment and obstructions and put them in place.  There was a blinking red light.  It kept on blinking red until it flashed green, when Cyclops shouted, "GO!"  They all raced forward, dodging projectiles shot at them, hitting them back with spikes, or blasts.  The scene in the danger room could almost equal that of a war.  Things were exploding, sparks flying everywhere, and machines being demolished.  Gambit was a bit shocked at how dangerous this all was, as he was nearly hit by a spinning blade.  He threw more cards at a contraption that was pounding away, trying to catch Cyclops.  It exploded as soon as the cards touched it, sending huge chunks of metal flying.  Everyone blasted, or phased through the chunks.  They were almost at the end before the floor fell through, causing them all to fall a few feet.  They were now encased around a wall of metal, a good eight feet tall.  Huge balls, Rogue recognized them as the ones she had to lift, dropped out and rolled toward them.  

"Everyone hold on to Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, or Rogue," yelled Scott.  Everyone obliged, and they were all either phased through, teleported, or flown somewhere.  There was a huge _CRASH_ as the two orbs collided into each other.  As they all met at the end, the voice of the professor was heard, booming, "Good work, 9 minutes and 23 seconds.  That is all we have in store for today."  The machine's faded away and returned to the danger room.  Everyone sighed with relief, glad they didn't have to do it over again.  Gambit, who had held onto Rogue, said mischievously, "T'ank y' f'r savin' me, chere.  Now, how 'bout a kiss t' show y' how grateful Remy is?"  He waggled his eyebrows up and down just before she threw him against a wall.  

As she stormed out, she thought _How can he do this?  He knows that he'll only get hurt!  So why is he doing this?  He must be even stupider than I thought, way stupider.  Why would a guy like him even want anything to do with me?_  The thoughts continued to plague her as she changed and made her way to her room, desperate to be by herself.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Remy rubbed his aching back.  _Shit!  When Stormy was talking about super strength, she wasn't kidding.  I think she broke my back, let alone bruising it._  Though he was in agony, it only enticed him more.  The more she pushed him away, the more appealing she was.  _Crazy,_ he thought,_ the more she beats me up, the more I want to be with her._  He started walking, more like hobbling, to the kitchen to get some ice.  There, he met Kurt, who was eating an apple, but stopped as soon as he saw Remy come in.  "Hey, homme, dere any ice in de fridge?"  

Kurt looked at him, yellow eyes glowing, "Vhat did you say to Rogue?"

"What d' y' mean?" he asked, going to the refrigerator, figuring Kurt wouldn't get the ice.  

"She doesn't beat people up for no reason."  

Remy sat down on one of the chairs and wedged the ice pack between his back and the backrest.  "So maybe I made a joke.  No big deal."

Kurt's eyes narrowed.  Though Rogue usually kept to herself, he always did feel like they had some sort of special bond.  He couldn't explain it, but…they just did.  They always looked out for one another, no matter what.  "Vhat did you say?" he repeated evenly.  

Remy glanced at Kurt, knowing he wasn't going to let up on the subject any time soon.  He sighed before replying, "I t'anked her f'r flyin' me up wit' her in de simulation."

"And?"

"…and I asked her if she wanted a t'ank y' kiss.  No big deal."  He winced as he shifted in his seat.  

"You're a jerk, you know zhat?  You know she can't touch anyone and now, you're rubbing it in her face!"  Kurt was now fuming at Remy, angry that he did such a thing.  Then again, he was overreacting a little bit, almost in an overprotective way.    

"Sorry!  It was jus' supposed t' be a joke!  Remy be sorry.  Didn't even mean it in that way."  As he said this, he only looked up to a glowering Kurt, who, in his fuzzy form, looked somewhat like a demon from hell.  Remy decided this was as good a time as any to use his "charm" powers, which had saved his neck more than once.  Many,_ many _times before.  "I really am sorry," he said, charisma flowing through his words.  Then, lying through his teeth, "I promise not t' do anyt'ing like dat again."  He waited for his reply, hoping that that had done the trick.

Kurt blinked.  There had been a strange serenity flowing through his whole body, wiping his mind, putting him in complete harmony.  He felt so…at ease, as if he was…hypnotized.  "Ok," he replied, almost in a trance.  After being overwhelmed by all this, he continued to eat his apple before teleporting up to his room.  

Remy let out a sigh of relief, glad that he had evaded a possibly dangerous situation.  "You know," a soft voice came from the door, "you really shouldn't use your charm to get out of everything."  Remy saw Storm walk up to him.  "It is best if you leave Rogue alone for a while.  You're starting school tomorrow and I highly doubt you want to be injured on your first day of school."  Her eyes fell on the ice back still on his back.  

"I jus' can' help m'self, Stormy," he said before yelping as she slapped his arm.

"How many times have I told you?" she questioned, smiling as she said this.  "And you better learn quickly, or we may see you in a hospital room."  She left the kitchen, leaving him to fend for himself.  He pulled the ice pack away from his back, throwing it back in the freezer.  "Dis be gettin' better," he muttered, as he headed out, as he prepared for school the next day.  

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

In the morning, Rogue had gotten up early, trying to avoid Remy as much as possible that day.  That day, she had worn her make up again.  She only hoped her pale, pale face and darkly colored eyelids would scare Remy away.  _It better freak him out, I spent all morning trying to convince myself that I liked wearing this.  It was almost like Carol was there, fighting me…_  She shuddered as images passed through her mind.  Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and held back all the memories…the memories that still haunted her, that would continue to…  _No, I can't think about this now, I can't, I just can't._    

Shaking her head, she had gotten down to the kitchen where she grabbed some pancakes and started wolfing them down as fast as possible.  She had no sooner eaten one before Kurt ported down, took one look at her, and burst out laughing.  She stopped and glared at him, "What's so funny, elf?" she asked him, only not so clear, since her mouth was so full of pancakes.  

"You…you…" he couldn't stop laughing, "you look like a chipmunk!"  

She continued to glare, "So?"

As soon as he regained his composure he replied, "It's just looked funny."

"Well ha ha."  She resumed stuffing her face with pancakes and swallowed, nearly choking on all the food.  

"Vhy are you eating zhem so fast?" Kurt questioned.

"So Ah can stay away from that new kid."

Kurt's face clouded over.  "You mean Remy?"

"Yeah, why are you so concerned anyway?"

"No reason," he said quietly, thinking of all the ways he could dismantle the resident Cajun.  Soon, the rest of the teens came down and the quiet kitchen was now as noisy as a high school cafeteria.  This was Rogue's cue to slip out and head for her room, hoping no one had noticed.  However, the professor had seen her depart, and waited before she was out of earshot before saying, "As you all know," the room became much quieter, "Risty Wilde is really Mystique."

"Who?"  That was Remy, completely oblivious to who she was.

"Risty is a British girl at our school, purple hair, kinda punkish," replied Scott, "Mystique is another mutant who has the power to change her appearance, you know, a shape shifter.  She's also kind of like the leader of the Brotherhood.  Storm told you who they were, right?"

"Oui."

"Well," the professor continued, "I'd like all of you to keep an eye on Rogue, and an eye out for the Brotherhood and Mystique, or Risty in this case.  We still do not know what they will do.  Hopefully, they won't bother Rogue again, but be sure that someone drives her home and drives her to school.  Everything clear?"  They all nodded, understanding the seriousness of the matter.  "That is all."  He headed towards his study.

"So," Remy began slowly, "who is dis Risty?"

"She was just this girl that Rogue hung out with, but none of us realized that it was Mystique," responded Jean, "If we'd known, I'm sure Rogue wouldn't have hung out with her."  

"I see."

"Hey, if anyone wants a ride," broke in Scott, "I'm leaving in ten minutes.  Be by the car."  With that said, everyone began moving around, gathering books, or doing last minute homework, before heading out.  "Remy," asked Scott, "need a ride?"

"Non, dat's ok.  I got m' own ride."  

"See you in school then."  Scott grabbed his keys and went to his car.  

Remy began walking back to his room, remembering to get his backpack and trench coat, when all of a sudden, a black blur crashed into him.  "Hey, watch where y'—." he stopped as soon as he recognized the person to be Rogue, and his manner changed completely.  " 'Scuse m' chere, look like Remy bumped int' y'," he said, reaching out to help her.  As soon as he caught sight of her face, his mouth dropped open.  Her cheeks and entire face were the same color as white sheets, her lips looked like they were numb, frozen purple, and above her eyes, it looked as if she rubbed dark colored pastels over it.    

Rogue stood up on her own, furious at herself for not leaving as soon as she could.  She didn't answer him and ignored his facial expression, though she was secretly thrilled that he didn't seem to approve of her Goth look.  She began walking out, hoping that the others hadn't left without her.    

Remy could only run his fingers through his hair and wonder what she had done to herself.  _All that makeup?  Is she trying to…oh, no she isn't.  She's not going to scare me away with just a little color on her face.  It's going to take a lot more than that, she'll see._  

The clock rang, telling him it was eight.  He shrugged off the thought and ran upstairs to get his belongings, hoping he wouldn't be late.  

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

By the time she had reached school, Rogue was still in a bad mood.  "Rogue, you've got to, like, lighten up.  Seriously, why are you, like, so cranky all the time?" asked Kitty.

"Ah don't know, 'k?" answered Rogue as she jumped out of the car, and began to go to her locker before a dull _roar_ could be heard in the parking lot and caught everyone's attention, including hers.  On a motorcycle, a trench coat laden Remy sat in the seat, grinning, seeing that he had everyone's interest.  He got off it, and strutted his way towards the front door of the school, pleased to see that Rogue was watching him like everyone else.

Rogue noticed he was grinning at her, so she quickly turned around and hurried off, praying that he didn't have any classes with her.  _If he does, I think I'll transfer out of all those classes._    

Remy, a bit disappointed that he hadn't captivated her mind for too long, turned his attention to the girls passing by, whispering and giggling as they waved at him.  _Hmm, maybe I can make Rogue jealous…_  Flirting was always a talent, as well as a hobby, of his, so it was worth a shot.  " 'Scuse m'," he asked a girl walking by, "can y' tell m' where Remy can find de main office?"

The girl blushed and gave him directions to the office.  He thanked her and headed in the direction she pointed in, hearing the giggling and shrieks behind him.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Does anybody know where Risty is?" asked Mr. Bradford, Rogue's history teacher, "Rogue, do you know?"

Rogue came out of her daydream to shake her head.  She didn't even want to know where she was, after what she did to her.  _That bitch, I hope I never see her again, even if she is my mother._    

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

By lunch, Remy had gotten to know most of the female population in his classes, though, to his displeasure, Rogue was not one of them.  As a few more girls laughed nervously as he waved to them, he set off to find the rest of the X-Men, whom he found with relative ease.  His heart lightened when he saw Rogue sitting with the rest of them.  _Wait, what am I doing?  She's just a challenge for you to overcome, a bump in the road.  A game for you to play in your spare time.  Why am I getting so content whenever I see her?  Am I actually…falling for her?_  Remy scoffed at the idea and shoved it aside.  There was no way he was falling in love with her.  To him, they were just means of entertainment.  He enjoyed playing with their minds, then throwing them away after he got what he wanted.  No one had really captivated him like Rogue had except for one other…Belle.  His long time girlfriend he had broken up with before coming here.  He had to use his charm to its fullest degree to convince her that breaking up was the right thing to do.  Long distance relationships never worked out, so why bother trying?

Rogue groaned as he saw Remy approaching their table.  "Guys, Ah'm goin'," she said as she gathered her books and began to get up.  

"Come on Rogue, just sit down for once.  You can't keep running from him," said Kitty forcefully, as she tried to push Rogue back into her seat, though she was quite unsuccessful.  "If he tries to do anything, we'll beat the crap out of him."  

Rogue shook her head, "No, Ah can't stand him and Ah'm goin'." 

"Just, like, stay here.  We want to watch out for the Brotherhood in case anything happens."

This comment infuriated Rogue.  "You think Ah can't even take care of mahself?"

"No!  We just don't want to see you get hurt," replied Scott, "after what happened on Friday, we don't want to take any chances."

Seeing that they had good intentions and their promise to kick Remy's ass if he bothered her, she sat down, wondering how many remarks she'd have to put up with that day.  She didn't have to wonder for too long, since Remy sat down, and of course, right next to her.  " 'Allo, how're y' t'day, chere?" he purred into her ear.  

"Great, until you showed up," she shot at him.  

"Chere a little testy t'day?"

"Mah name is Rogue, so Ah'd appreciate it if you'd use it."

"But chere is so much more fittin', don't y' t'ink?"

"Leave her alone, ok Remy?" Scott said, intervening.  He really didn't want to start some kind of brawl that would end all of them up in detention.  

Remy, who didn't really want a black eye, obliged and stayed quiet, for a while.  Rogue had opted to switch seats with Kitty, who was more than willing to switch.  The young freshmen eagerly wrapped Remy into a conversation, taking his mind off Rogue.  The long line of teenage girls, waiting to talk to him also may have helped.  

Rogue exhaled with relief, just glad she didn't have to put up with his teasing.  _When I get back to the institute, I think I'll sic Wolverine on him,_ she thought, smiling very broadly.  

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"I finished grading your tests that you took on Wednesday," announced Madame Louise, the French teacher, "Get them at the door."  She began passing them back, each student fervently awaiting their score.  Rogue and Evan stood in line to see what they got.    

"What'd you get?" asked Evan, he had gotten an 83%.  

"68%," Rogue said bitterly.  

"Ouch, that's going to bring your grade down even more."

"Ah know, Ah just suck at French."

"I'd help you, but I had to study my ass off for my B-."

"No, it's ok, Ah'll see what Ah can do."  Rogue began to speculate about the things she *could* do.  There weren't too many, either study day and night to try to get an A on her midterm, or do what she was doing now and fail French.  Unfortunately for her, there weren't too many options.  

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Another opening.  Light.  Air.  It was coming.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The air whipped against his legs as he rode back to the institute.  Remy had tried to find Rogue after school, but she was nowhere to be seen.  _Probably went back with the others.  _As he pulled up to the institute, he was greeted by a none too friendly Wolverine.  "So…heard you were bothering a certain girl with white stripes in her hair…" he welcomed Remy.  

"Where'd y' get dat information?  Remy was just talkin' t' her," Remy replied, knowing full well what was about to happen.  

Wolverine walked up to him, pushing his face into his.  "Look, pal, if you don't leave her alone, I'll make you into shish kabob.  Got it?"

"How 'bout we duel it out?  Y' know I'm not goin' t' back down, an' neither are y'."  Remy pulled out a card, ready to charge it, eyes glowing a dangerous red.  

_SHINK!_  Wolverine's claws retracted.  "You're on, bub."  

As they were about to attack each other, a huge lightning bolt came between the two of them.  _CRSKK!_ it went.  The two men turned around to see a very irritated Storm.  "If you two gentlemen would listen, I would like to say that you are both quite childish and immature.  Both of you know very well that this is not a way to settle an argument.  Remy, you're a gentlemen," a snort from Wolverine interrupted her.  Storm glared at him before resuming, "Remy, you know that when a woman asks you to stop, you stop.  Wolverine, you know that it is not appropriate to try to slice someone in half, even when someone asks you to."  As she finished up, she re-entered the institute, leaving the two men to glare angrily at each other.  Neither of them spoke until Wolverine finally said, "Like I said before, you mess with her again, and I'm gonna mess you up real bad.  Especially when your little 'Stormy' ain't here to save you."  He stalked back into the building, muttering under his breath.  

Remy did the same thing, heading to his room to do some thinking.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

When he finally reached his room, Remy plopped onto his bed, wondering, _Why am I doing this?  I'm throwing myself away for some girl, a girl that doesn't even care about who I am.  Why is she so different?  What makes her different from the other girls I've met?  Is it the fact that she poses such a challenge?  What is it?_  He pondered about this for quite a while, unable to come to a conclusion.  _Just my luck, I fall for a girl who has overprotective friends who threaten to kill me if I hurt or bother her.  Just great…_  

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

As a few weeks passed on, it was the same thing between Remy and Rogue.  She'd ignore or punch him when he'd flirt with her, resulting in a few broken body parts for him, and he'd tried to get her attention, while only failing.  As a result, he'd flirt with some other girls in his spare time, after all, he didn't have anything else to do, did he?  This continued for some time until one day…

"Rogue, may I see you for a moment?" asked Madame Louise, one day.  Everybody else headed out, since school had ended, while Rogue made her way to the front, knowing all too well why she was called up.  "Rogue, I'd like to discuss your French grade.  Your test grades are very low, your homework is almost unacceptable, you don't participate at all in class, and you're barely passing French.  What is happening?"

Rogue was a beginning to get a little uncomfortable, even squirming a bit.  "Ah don't know.  Ah'm just not that great at languages, that's all."  

"Well, you may just fail out of French if this keeps on going as it has.  That is why I am assigning you a tutor."

Horror flowed through Rogue as her eyes widened in fright.  "A tutor?  That's…well, that's very nice of you…but Ah don't know…Ah mean…Ah…"

Madame Louise put her hand up to stop Rogue.  "I know you are a bit…er…withdrawn, but I believe this is necessary.  Don't worry, he is excellent in French and I will guarantee you that he will help you bring your grade up.  He should be here any minute now…"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Remy was walking down the halls of Bayville High since his French teacher had asked him to tutor a student failing French.  He had protested a lot, but eventually gave in once he found out he would be given extra credit in English, which he, himself, was not doing too well in.  _I wonder who this person is.  I hope it's not that annoying girl I keep on seeing, she bothers the hell out of me._  Remy turned in to room 216…

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Ahh…here he is," Madame Louise said, as she saw Remy's head peering out from the door.  Rogue's eyes only widened more in horror while Remy's lips twitched upwards in happiness.  

"Oh mah Gawd, Ah'm sorry, Ah think Ah'll just take mah F and take summer school," Rogue said, rather urgently.  

"Nonsense.  There is no point for you to spend time studying during the summer when you don't have to."

Rogue, absolutely disgusted at Remy's smug face, responded, "But Ah can't stand him!"

"Then this will be a nice time for the two of you to get to know each other even better.  See the good in one another.  Now," she said firmly, "I will give you a failing grade if you refuse to be tutored."  

Everything Rogue was afraid of was now coming true.  She was trapped, having nowhere to go.  It was either fail French, or get at least a C in French, but be tutored by…him!  _AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!  Why does every friggin bad thing have to happen to me?  WHY???!!!  Is this because of what happened?  IS IT?_  She stared at her feet in defeat.  "Fahne.  Ah'll be tutored."  

Remy nearly started laughing out loud at the look of Rogue's face.  _This is fucking hilarious.  I wish I had something to capture this moment._  Rogue glared at him even harder when he heard muffled laughter coming from his direction.  

_I can't believe it, he probably planned all this, I bet he did.  He better stop laughing unless he wants me to punch him in the face.    _   

Madame Louise told the two of them what they had to do, and Rogue stormed out, completely enraged.  But she didn't go completely over the top until she got outside, where she saw that Scott's car was gone.  "Fuck!  They left without meh!" she said, about to go on a wild rampage.  

"Remy can give y' a ride, chere," Remy said, unable to stop grinning.  

"Ah'll ride with ya when hell freezes ovah!  And wipe that grin off your face before Ah punch it off!" she yelled, "You planned this, didn't ya?  You knew Ah was failin' French and you suggested a tutor, and now, Ah don't have a ride home."

"Non, not m' idea, chere.  I'd like it t' be, dough, den I can take credit f'r all dis."  

Rogue couldn't believe it.  She was stuck at school, now had *Remy* of all people to tutor her, and no friend to complain about all this to.  She did the only thing she could do without doing something illegal; she began walking back.  Remy jogged up to meet her, "Where y' goin'?"

"Anywhere where you aren't.  In other words, away from you."  

"I can give y' a ride on m' bike."

"No thank you."

"C' mon, chere, y' know y' want t'," he whispered in her ear.  

Rogue whipped her head around to face him.  She wanted to kill him for saying that, for standing so close to her, for even existing.  But at that moment, she felt sorrow, yes, for some odd reason she felt sorrow, for him?  She had no idea.  But whatever it was, it pained her.  It pained her to see his pitiful self.      

"No, Ah don't.  And if you actually think Ah do, then you're the biggest fuckin' idiot Ah've ever met."  She whipped her head around, trying to see if there was anyone watching them.  After seeing nobody but the two of them, she flew off into the distance.  

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

This is a horrible chapter.  Throw everything you want at me, I don't care.  I know I have self-confidence issues, but this chapter really sucked.  It really, really did.  But what did you guys think about the whole tutoring thing?  I know that the beginning part of it was kind of stupid, but I did have to get in the whole Kurt/Rogue brother/sister thing in and talk about Remy's charm powers.  Those are one his powers, right?  And does he talk in third person, because I always thought so.  Who knows, maybe I'm wrong.  (I probably am)  Do you like the way he's falling for her?  Or is it too fast and not really convincing?  Was the pancake thing and danger room thing stupid?  Do you think that Remy is too needy in this fic?  Do you think I should up the rating to R since there are more curse words than I predicted?  Please tell me!  Review!  I need feedback!  PLEASE!  Anything would be nice!                  

               


	7. What happened?

**Note:** I have never, in my life, taken French.  I repeat, I've never taken French before, so yes, the whole French tutoring thing will not make any sense to those who speak French.  I can't help it, I take Spanish.  Please, don't kill me.

After this chapter, I will be taking a break from "Yearning" to continue writing some more fanfiction.  In fact, I've uploaded one already, check it out.  It's called "Not Like This".  I know I'm sort of doing some advertising, but it would be nice to hear what some of you guys think about it.  Anyway, as always, review!    

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Scott!  I'm always tired of you ragging on me about Duncan!" yelled Jean as she slammed the door of the institute.  

"And I suppose you think we don't get tired of hearing about everything he does?" retorted Scott, then in a higher pitched, girlier voice, "Oh, Duncan's taking me here today, this concert tomorrow, he's so rich he makes Bill Gates look like a hobo…"

"Shut up Scott, you don't even know him!"

"Kind of hard to like him when his hobbies are beating up people and trying to find ways to lower his IQ of 50!"

"He does not have an IQ that low!"

"Do you know how blind you are?"  

Kitty, Kurt, and Evan watched their bickering, finding it all too entertaining.  "Five bucks says this'll go on for more than five minutes," whispered Evan to Kurt and Kitty, pulling out a crisp, green five-dollar bill, slapping it on the coffee table.  

"You're on," said Kurt, pulling out a couple dollar bills and placing them next to Evan's five bucks before resuming to the sight before him.  

"Scott, have you realized how big a jerk you can be?"  

"Really?  Apparently, you're not comparing me to Duncan."

"Why the hell do you keep on bringing him up?  For someone who hates him so much, you sure do use him as a weapon against your friends." 

As Jean and Scott's argument grew more intense, and higher in volume, Rogue landed on the steps before the front door.  _Looks like they're having one of their stupid fights again.  And it's always the same…Scott, Duncan is a nice person, you're the one being an idiot…That guy is like a communist leader, always having everything go his way or you're toast…_  

Rogue, who was not in the mood to be caught in the middle of their petty dispute charged in, nearly ripping off the door along the way.  Almost immediately, she got pulled into their disagreement.  "Rogue," demanded Scott, "please tell Jean what an imbecile Duncan is."  

"Look, Ah don't want ta be in one of your fuckin' arguments.  Deal it out yourself lahk everyone else."  With that said, she flew up in the direction of her room, and left a very irritated Scott.  As soon as she got in her room, she slammed the door, which splintered with the force she had put in.  _Damn it!  That's the second door this week!  The professor's going to kill me.  Why does everything have to go wrong today?  Why?_  

As the anxiety set in, they came back, like they always did.  The memories, the guilt, the thoughts that still plagued her mind, that wouldn't leave her alone.  _No, no!  Just go away, leave me alone…_ They didn't obey her and only brought her to her knees, clutching her head in agony.  _AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!_ she began to scream in her mind, trying her hardest to stop it, stop it from coming back.  Her mind was in intense pain, as if someone was stabbing her mind with a knife, carving it through, making Rogue beg for mercy.    

And as mysteriously as it had come, it left, leaving a trail of ambiguity that would only torture Rogue more, even more than what had just happened.  Why?  Why did it keep on coming and disappearing?  Why?  WHY? 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Remy paraded his way to the institute, debating whether or not he should try to find Rogue…again.  _Well Remy, you got her pretty mad at you.  It's best that you leave her alone.  Who knows what she's going to do to you once you talk to her again?  Yup, it's best that you leave her alone._  

As he gazed through the window, he saw the same sight that had greeted Rogue; an all out battle between Jean and Scott, which, by the way, had went well over five minutes, making Evan five dollars wealthier.  Although Remy, himself, had only been here for a couple weeks, he too had gotten quite used to their quarrels.  He walked into the gathering area and plopped down next to Kurt.  "How long has dis been goin' on, homme?"  

Kurt, none too happy about the whole Rogue and Remy situation, only grumbled, which only made the devil eyed teen even unhappier.  _What do I have to do to get along with him?  You'd swear that he's her older brother or something._  Which, is true, but not to the knowledge of either of the two.  But now, the only thing he could do was watch the fight in front of him, which occupied quite a bit of his time.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

_I wonder if I should tell the professor.  No, it's not that bad and I'm sure it will pass.  I don't even think that he'll even know what to do, or does he?  Maybe he does and I'll just have to have him put up some mental block or whatever it's called._  Rogue was conflicted between telling the Xavier about the very sudden memory flashes that were more like…attacks.  _How can they mess up my mind like that?  They're just memories and thoughts, so why does it…why does it hurt so much?  And why didn't what the professor did stop them?  _She remembered the time when she had gained her new powers, and the enemy, Ms. Marvel, had been fighting tooth and nail to gain control of Rogue's body…because she had taken her life.  Rogue winced at the thought, guilt and tears overcoming her.  

_Why?  What did I do to deserve this?  Maybe I deserved this all along, all I do is hurt people.  I don't see why everyone here even bothered with me; I was useless, and still am._  She climbed on her bed and buried her head into the soft white sheet, staining it with soft lilac spots, crying her eyes out, wishing that she never had her "gift".  

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The next day at school was like any other, except… "Rogue!"  

Rogue kept on walking, not wanting anything to do with the person who had just called her name.  

"Rogue, wait up f'r me."  Of course, it was Remy.  This time, however, he had a different reason for chasing her, this time it was to help her with French.  _You know, chere, you're going to have to talk to me sometime.  You know you can't avoid me unless you want to fail French._  

He hurried through a group of people, pushing his way through, not really caring whether he knocked someone over.  His hand was just long enough to reach her shoulder, which he grasped, pulling her back despite her super strength, catching her by surprise.  

As soon as she straightened up, she mumbled, "What do ya want?"

Remy looked her straight in the eye, "Y' know we're gonna have to start y' French t'ing soon."  

She started scowling even more.  _I hate this.  Now, he even has a reason to bug and hang around me.  All because of stupid French.  Man, I hate this language even more than I did before._  "Great," she drawled sarcastically, making the most of her accent, "when do we start?"  

Remy, a little stunned by how easily she took the whole thing, was only able to stutter, "Well…I…I was t'inkin'…t'day, after school…in de library?"

"Great, see ya then."  And with a twist of a heel, she was off again.

He watched her round the corner before heading off in his own direction, not really noticing the band of girls following him.  

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Non, y' conjugatin' de verbs wrong.  An' y' don' put de adjective first, y' put de noun firs'," Remy said, while taking a pencil and circling all the mistakes on her worksheet.  It was quite exasperating for Rogue since she had to take orders from him now.  Things were only made worse when the same group of girls that had been following him settled around the perimeter of the library.  

"Ok," said Rogue, correcting her mistakes and jotting down a few notes, "is this raht?"  She showed him a newly revised piece of homework.  

"Oui, chere."  He gave her a genuine smile, glad that he was actually able to help her.  _Maybe I was being a jerk all along, maybe this was all I had to do_.  Rogue noticed this and couldn't help but think, _He doesn't seem as bad as before.  I can't even believe that he's actually tolerable today.  No…wait…this is probably all a set up.  A trick to make me think he's actually a nice guy, and then to stab me in the back when I actually trust him.  No, I can't trust him, not anyone, not anymore…_ She stabbed her notebook angrily as she recalled the day she and her "best friend" were just going to hang out, just going to relax after a week of school, but instead…

She jolted up, startling Remy a little bit.  _Ughh…I can't believe I'm thinking this, but…might as well learn more French to get my mind off this._  "What are we gonna do next?"

Remy was about to say, review transitive verbs, when a girl, Anna, to his recollection, came up to their table.  And in that awful, high-pitched, valley girlish voice, that annoyed Rogue to death, she said, "Hi Remy," completely ignoring Rogue.  

"Bonjour chere, can we help y'?" he asked, trying to be the gentlemen he was brought up to be, though he, himself, wanted her to go away.  

"Well, like, yeah.  Since you're, like, helping Rogue with French," she said her name as in disgust, "I was wondering if you'd help me too."

Rogue cringed at her voice and the thought.  She already knew that the only reason Anna was asking this was to flirt with Remy.  Rogue had absolutely no intention to spend her afternoon listening to a valley girl, worse than Kitty, and a guy she hated trying to romance each other.  

"Well…I guess y' can," Remy replied, a little reluctantly.  This was one of the only times he could be around Rogue without her trying to break his back or kill him.  But he did give in, so he was about to go over transitive verbs with the two of them when yet another girl came up to their table.  "Hi, I was, like, wondering if I could, like, study with, like, you guys too.  French, right?" she said, sitting down before she was even invited in.  

Rogue turned her head around, scanning the library.  She wasn't all too surprised when all she saw was a bunch of girls, scattered around the room, eyeballing their table.  All, she supposed, wanted to "study" with Remy.  "That's it, swamp rat," Rogue said to Remy, delighted to be leaving so quickly, "you can take care of your fan club, 'cuz Ah ain't."  She stood up and grabbed her backpack before stalking out of the library.  

Before Remy could say anything, a few more girls came up and asked the same question the other two had before, "Can we study with you?"  He, secretly, wanted to yell at them.  This was the only time he and Rogue could sit in the same room together, and they, they had to ruin it for him.  Pretty ironic once you think about it.  He used to love being the center of their attention, teasing them, talking to them, but right now, right at this moment, he hated them, and sort of hated himself.  _Damn Remy!  You're a dumb ass right now!  Come on, you should have picked a more private place, like the institute or something, where there aren't girls crawling around it._  

He was clutching his pencil rather tightly, and noticed it glowing.  _Shit!_  He looked around the room, looking for a place where no one was looking.  As soon as he found an empty area of the library, he gently threw the pencil in that direction, hoping no one saw him and that it didn't cause too much damage.  He waited.  _BOOM!_  There was a small explosion, which made many of the people in the library jump and freak out.  

"Oh my God!  What happened?"  "Was that, like, a bomb?"  "What the hell happened?"  Everyone was talking, their curiosity and fear escalating.  Mr. Gallen, the librarian, walked over to the sight of the explosion, where he investigated the area, seeing whether or not there was extensive damage.  After examining the area, he announced, "Everyone," everybody in the library quieted down, "everyone, please go home or somewhere.  I need to report this to the principal and they're going to look into this and find out what really happened.  For now, the library will be closed."  

Backpacks started rustling and people started talking again, all wondering, "What happened?"  Everyone… everyone except Remy, who could only think, _Shit, if the professor hears about this, I'm dead._  

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Remy slipped into the institute through the window to his bedroom, hoping, more like praying, that Storm nor the professor had heard about the explosion at the library.  Unfortunately for him, the two had already heard, since, well, they had "connections".  

~Remy~ the professor called, after picking up Remy's mental patterns, ~could you come to my study?~

Remy, knowing what was coming next replied ~Yes.~

He walked quickly towards the professor's study.  It was better to get it over with, right?  As he entered, he encountered the professor as well as Storm and Wolverine, all of whom didn't look all too ecstatic.  "Remy," the professor began, "what happened today?"

Remy heaved a sigh before saying, "At de library, I wasn' really payin' attention an' I accidentally charged a pencil."  

"I see.  Well, it seems to me we'll have to have more sessions, won't we?"

"Yeah, guess so."

"And we may have to make some adjustments as well." 

This baffled Remy a little.  "What do y' mean by 'adjustments'?"

"Well," the professor began slowly, "it appears that whenever you unintentionally charge something, it is because you have something on your mind.  Something that angers you, am I correct?"  

Remy nodded glumly.  

"And when you become frustrated with whatever is on your mind, you lose your concentration, resulting in the flow of kinetic energy to an object."

"So…" said Remy, still unsure of the point of the conversation, "what do y' mean by all dis?  Dat I need t' go t' anger management classes?"  

"Something like that.  You need to channel your anger through something else.  If you would like, you could join me in some of my psyche sessions.  I'll try to help you calm your fury, soothe your mind, something like that."  He looked at the teenager for a response.  

"Sorry prof," he said almost immediately, "but I don' like de idea of someone goin' t'rough m' head."  

The professor nodded his head, understanding his uncertainties quite well.  "I am aware of your worries, Remy.  Though I make it my priority to not read your thoughts; I just want to help you.  You do realize that without doing something about your agitation, something much worse than today will occur."  

As he said this, thoughts and images raced through Remy's mind.  The pictures of the scene at the library, close friends nearly getting hurt, and…  His eyes snapped wide open, mind changed completely.  That one memory, that one memory he tried to forget, that was the one that changed everything.  "Y' know, maybe I'll take dat offer after all."  

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Well?  Is it going too slowly?  Should I pick it up a bit?  Too boring?  I don't care what you say, just say something!  Anything!  Oh yeah, I apologize for my lack of wit.      


	8. What did you say?

Sorry for the long wait!  I had summer school to deal with, and school does always come first.     

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

_Man!  I hate those stupid ass exercises.  They're boring as hell,_ thought Remy, coming up from the danger room.   He was making progress in controlling his powers, though he still had a little more to go.  _I wonder what everyone else is doing…_  He began to make his way to the rec room, where he found everyone doing their own thing, watching TV, reading, talking, etc.  He figured this would be as good a thing to waste his time, so he joined in on Jean and Kitty's conversation. 

"…Yeah, it seems like it'll be really cool, don't you?  Oh, hey Remy," greeted Kitty, breaking off the discussion she was having with Jean, "Heard about the dance yet?"  

"Y' mean de dance dat's on every damn poster on every damn locker at school?"  

"Yeah, that one."  

"What about it?"  

Jean and Kitty looked at him incredulously.  "You haven't even thought about it yet?" Jean asked in amazement.  

Now, it was Remy's turn to look at them strangely.  "It's a month away!  Besides, what's dere t' talk about?"

"Well…" Kitty said slowly, "who are you going to take?"  

He knew who he'd like to take, but of course, she wouldn't want to go with him.  "Don' know."  

"You know, with the right incentive, Rogue may go with you.  May go with you."  

Remy nearly fell off the couch.  "What de hell makes y' t'ink dat she'd go t' de dance wit' me?  An' why do y' t'ink I wanted t' go wit' her?"

"Like Kitty said," Jean replied, ignoring his last comment, "given the right incentive, she may go with you." 

The rest of the guys, Scott, Evan, and Kurt, had begun eavesdropping on their little chat.  Evan, however, couldn't contain his amusement and burst out laughing.  "Rogue?  With him?  Hahahaha…"

Even Scott could not compose himself.  "I've got to admit," he said, suppressing some laughter, "I think the chances of Rogue agreeing to go the dance with Remy are pretty slim.  You can't even charm your way into her even acknowledging you."  Scott recognized Remy's ability to talk his way into things, noticing it especially at school.  

 Remy's eyes narrowed, "Y' t'ink I can' get de ice princess out o' her shell?"  [A/N: Sorry for the sudden mood change.  Really unrealistic.]  

"Nope, don't think you can."

"Wanna bet?"  

"Vhat do you zhink you're doing?" Kurt asked, anger leaking out of every word.  

Remy wanted someone to punch him.  _Shit!  Forgot that the blue dude is in "overprotective brother" mode all the time._  "I was jus' tryin' to bring Rogue t' de dance."  

"She isn't a zhing you can manipulate," Kurt fumed out, "she isn't like other girls that you zhink you can walk all over.  If you hurt her, I'll port you into ze ocean!" 

Kitty, who regretted bringing up the whole idea, said awkwardly, "You know, maybe we should just, like, let Rogue do whatever she wants.  I mean, you can't force her to go.  Nobody can.  I just…I just wish that we could, you know, help her become a little more social, have a life instead of being all muddled up in a corner." 

There was an uncomfortable silence in the air.  All were a bit ashamed of even thinking of betting on a friend.  Finally, after what seemed like quite a while, Scott spoke up trying to break the uneasiness, "So…anyone thinking of going yet?"  

This perked Kitty and Jean up, "Yeah, I hope I can find a dress though."  "Has anybody bought their tickets yet?"  The conversation was brought back up, and everyone talking excitedly, though, it was three weeks away.

Everyone was conversing, everyone except Remy, who could only lean back and think.  _I wonder if she'd ever go out with me.  No, that's crazy.  After you harassed her in the beginning, she won't even talk to you unless it's about French.  The only girl.  The only girl you've never been able to win over.  The only girl you've never been able to ever win over and it's her, the girl you've ever really cared about.  Why do I even care about her?  The only difference between her and the other girls, besides the fact she's the only one that's pushed you away, is the one I can't touch her.  So is that it?  Is that the only reason why?  Because she's the only one that never paid any attention to you?_  

He recalled the day he first met her.  The way when she was introduced, how she slipped her hand away, and when he saw her face.  _Her face,_ Remy thought, frowning a bit_, what did it look like without all that pow…_…  He stopped.  And his heart nearly stopped with it.  Now he remembered.  Without all that makeup, she was easily the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.  But the thing that truly captivated his heart were her beautiful emerald eyes that seemed to look straight into him.  They looked past his snake charmer image, saw him for who he truly was.  All the thoughts about that day were held down unconsciously in his mind, so for a while, he never realized why he was so attracted to her.  _Love at first sight?_ he wondered, _maybe it does exist.  Maybe it does…_  

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"So, what did y' get on y' test?"  This was the first thing Remy asked Rogue when she got back to the institute.  He had been tutoring her for about two weeks and hoped she had improved some.  

"79%," she replied, flopping down in a chair and began reading.

"Better dan de D y' got las' time," he murmured, looking at all the incorrect answers on her sheet.  He noticed that she had drastically progressed, making less small errors and was even grasping new concepts.  "Wan' t' do y' homework?"  

Rogue grumbled about something while putting her book down and pulling papers out of her backpack.  Remy looked at the book, _The Witching Hour by Anne Rice._  _Geez, this girl's really into Anne Rice, isn't she?  And vampires, witches…_  His thoughts were interrupted pieces of paper being shoved into his face.  "Here," Rogue said, preparing to work.  

"Ok, in dis exercise, y' match up de t'ings here," he pointed, "wit' de t'ings dere.  An' here…" he droned on, explaining what she would have to do.  

She nodded, showing that she understood.  As she began working, her mind began wandering from the incredibly dull worksheets.  It started to think about, of all people, Remy, and his extreme attitude change.  _He's a lot nicer than he was before.  He doesn't tease me, bother me, or even annoy me even more.  Shit, I can't believe he's actually an ok person.  How did he become like this?  Can I actually consider him my friend?  No.  I can't consider anyone my friend.  They're all either here to hurt you or pity you.  Or…_  "Hello?"  Rogue looked up to see a hand waving in front of her eyes.  Irritated, she smacked the hand in front of her.  

"Fuck, chere," Remy groaned, rubbing his knuckles, "jus' tryin' t' see if y' were still dere."  

Her eyes narrowed.  "What do ya mean?"  

"Y' sure takin' a long time matchin' de grandpere and de grandmere t'gether."

Rogue looked down and saw that she had stopped at question number three.  Just barely blushing, she said, "Oh," and continued on, her mind occasionally, well, frequently, drifting off.  And drift off it did.  And, much to her confusion, to the previous subject.  Needless to say, it took her quite a while to finish her homework.  Despite the fact she took two hours to finish what usually took half an hour, she couldn't help but notice Remy's patience.  She observed how he never got agitated by how long she took, or how stupid she sometimes could be.  _Why didn't I notice this before?  Probably because I spent all that time punching him in the face._  And something else puzzled her.  Whenever called her 'chere', she didn't feel the urge to kick him in the groin area.  This made her even more curious, more baffled.  

"Congratulations," Remy stated sarcastically, "y' took a record time o' two hours t' finish y' homework."  

"Yeah, whatevah," she replied, flippantly.  Grabbing all her stuff, she flew upstairs where she wanted to sort out all the thoughts in her head.  

Remy watched her go, shocked.  _What?  No sardonic comeback?  No punch in the stomach?  _But all this led to one thought that would bother him for the longest time, _How am I going to ask her to the dance?_

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The next week was like any other.  Except for one thing.  The two southerners, the two R's, seemed to be especially out of routine.  The constant daydreaming, attention span cut short, and their minds seemed to go off everywhere.  And strangely enough, it was about each other.  Each one evaluating one another.  

_Come on Remy, what's wrong with you?  You've asked tons of girls out before, so how come you can't even ask her to a stupid dance?  Damn, I must really like her if I'm so afraid to be turned down by her.  Usually, I'm so self confident, people want to smack me in the head.  What happened to the Casanova, the smooth talking Cajun?_  He was sitting at the lunch table he usually sat at, staring at some ketchup with a french fry, as if in some a trance.  

_Fwwpttt!_  The wrapper of a straw flew straight into his ear, causing Remy to jump up from his seat.  He turned and glared at Evan, who was laughing at his face.  "Damn, for a so called "master thief", you sure didn't see that coming."  

"Jus' t'inkin' 'bout stuff." 

Kitty widened her brown eyes.  "Like who you're taking to the dance?"  She winked at him, quite unsubtly.  

Remy could only stare back at her.  _Shit!  I swear, that girl is a telepath like Jean and the professor._  "Maybe," he said teasingly, wishing he hadn't made his early flirtation with Rogue so obvious.  

Scott, who had seen Kitty's wink, said, in an oh so encouraging voice, "Good luck."  

Evan looked around the cafeteria.  "And if you do," he said in a low voice, "better not tell Kurt.  He seems like he's going to rip your head off if you get anywhere near her.  Don't tell Wolverine either.  Heard he almost killed you the other day."

"Don' see why m' life is so importan' t' y' guys," he snorted.

"Because," Kitty's eyes were shining brightly, "this may be the one time we'll see Rogue actually get out and have fun for once."

"Yeah," piped in Jean, "I mean, I know we're not best friends or anything, in fact, far from that, but it'd be nice to finally see her coming out, just trying to live a normal life.  Well, it's not really possible to have a normal life, but you guys know what I mean…"  She babbled on, soon after jumping from subject to subject.

_Okay Remy, that's it.  You are going to ask Rogue to that dumb dance.  Put aside your worries, don't even think about being turned down.  Just go to her and ask her.  No big deal, you've done this before.  No problem._  Remy's head buzzed with thoughts, trying to convince himself that he had the courage.

"So?" asked Scott, interrupting his thoughts, "are you going to ask her or what?"

The Cajun put on his best trademark smirk.  "O' course.  If de gambit can' do it, who can?"  [A/N: Yet again, mood change.]  

"Cocky as always," Kitty chuckled.  

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"We are running the usual.  Got it?  Battle scene sequence, timed, nobody is left behind.  Putting it on as soon as you guys get in."  Wolverine informed them in on their daily danger room session, giving them the vague details.  

Gambit heard none of it.  And you may ask, what was occupying his mind?  _After the danger room session.  You hear that?  After the danger room session, you're going to ask her to the dance.  Away from Kurt and away from Logan.  Pretend that you have to talk to her about French or something, that way, hopefully, they won't get suspicious.  _

"Gumbo!" barked Wolverine.  

His head jerked up.  "What?"

"Get in!"

He had hardly noticed that the rest of the team had already entered and were patiently waiting for him to come in as well.  

"Good.  Sequence C-5 begin."  

And automatically, as usual, machines popped out of the walls, shooting lasers, blades, anything to hit their opponent.  And as usual, they fired back, obliterating everything in their path.  

As the simulation ran on, Rogue noticed that one particular machine was especially persistent.  Persistent, that is, on attacking her.  _Damn machine, gotta fix that problem.  _She flew towards it, about to bust through it…  _SMASH!_  Something knocked her off balance, causing her to fall and hit the cold, metal floor.  _Ughh…wonder why I didn't see that coming._  Gently pushing herself off the floor, she rubbed her head, trying to get back into the exercise.  She didn't notice the heavy weight falling rapidly right above her……

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Any guesses on what happens?  I guess it is a bit obvious, huh?  If you don't, then I hope you don't mind cliffhangers, because I'm going to be out for a while, so I won't be able to write or upload for about 2 weeks.  I do, however, promise Rogue/Remy in the next chapters.  Hope you liked it!  Review please.    


	9. Can I believe it?

Sorry for the long delay!  I was out of town for the past couple weeks and was kind of busy.  I also had to write and rewrite it since I didn't really like the original chapter.  I hope this is worth the wait.  

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Shadowcat's eyes widened as she saw her friend about to be hit by a falling projectile.  "ROGUE!" she shrieked, causing her teammates to turn and look, "WATCH OUT!"  

Rogue's head turned, only to see a 2 ton object a few feet from her head.  She froze.  _Rogue, come on, MOVE!  You're gonna die!  _But she couldn't.  It was as if she were glued to the floor, like she was paralyzed.  No…like someone was controlling her…  As it came barreling towards her, she only stood there, waiting for her death, her demise.  But in one fluid motion…  _BAM!_  She found herself slammed into the wall of the room.  "Computer, end simulation!" shouted Scott, as the rest of the team ran to her direction.  Dazed, confused, and at the moment, possessing a major headache, Rogue looked up to her rescuer.  

Gambit.  She nearly fainted on the spot, seeing that he risked his own life to save hers.  Only able to stare up into his face, admiration, disbelief, and gratefulness flood through her.  She suddenly became shy, only now noticing that she was quite close to him, and in a none too comfortable position.  As she began to worm her way away from him, he asked her, quite seriously, "Are y' ok, chere?"  There was a certain pain in his eyes, seeing that he could have been seriously injured.  

Rogue opened her mouth, but was unable to speak.  He, he, the one guy she couldn't stand in the beginning, the one guy she thought that was out to bother her, saved her.  _Does that mean…does that mean he actually cares?  Does he actually care about me?  Does he?_  Her thoughts were a jumble, unable to distinguish one notion from another.  _But he could have been killed, killed by me!  How could he…how can he…_  "You fuckin' idiot!" she roared, jumping to her feet, even surprising Gambit.  "Ya coulda been killed, ya know that?"  

"Oui, chere," he said quietly.

"And Ah'm invulnerable.  Do you know what that means?  It means Ah can't get hurt, Ah'm incapable of being hurt."  She was irate, cursing at herself that, yet again, someone would be hurt by her.  "You're…you're…you're an idiot!  An idiot for trying to save me," she screamed, while flying away, hoping that nobody caught the tears that were on the brink of falling.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Almost there.  Almost there.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

_How could he do that?  How?  He knew that he could have died, and all because of me._  "Aauugghh!"  Rogue yelled while smashing a nearby boulder to pieces.  She was sitting amongst the trees in the woody area behind the institute, trying to make sense of what had just happened.  Clearly, she was upset, and torn, unable to comprehend why he had bothered to push her out of the way.  _I'm invulnerable.  He knows that and so does everyone else.  But why?  Why?  It doesn't make any sense at all._  Burying her head in her hands, she could not ignore the fact that had been bugging her ever since he saved her.  

He truly cared about her.  

_All this time, I thought he only wanted to get my attention, bug me, annoy me, but now…  Now, I think he…I think he actually cares about me.  Doesn't he?  Is that even possible?  For someone to actually care about me?  I mean, he saved me!  He knew I was invulnerable, but risked his own life to save mine.  That's something, isn't it?_  She started heading back to the mansion, after all, she didn't want to worry everyone any more than she already had.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

_What did I do wrong?_ wondered Remy, who was caught completely off guard by a screeching Rogue, _All I did was push her away.  I knew she wouldn't be hugging me or anything, but I didn't really expect her to start calling me an idiot.  Well, there goes my chance of her going to the dance with me, let alone her even talking to me ever again. _ He sat glumly on the couch, after being harassed by Wolverine and Kurt, only to have them be calmed down by the professor and Storm.

He heard the door open and shut softly, which caused him to turn his attention in that direction.  

It was her.  The girl he fell for, the one who tore his heart apart.  Their eyes met and an uncomfortable silence followed as the two of them dropped their eye contact, too embarrassed or ashamed to say anything.

Rogue could see, through the dark of his sunglasses, that he was hurt.  But then again, who wouldn't be?  After saving someone's life, to be yelled and screamed at, like you did something wrong?  That would upset anyone.  

After sitting in the thick of silence, Rogue decided to break the discomfort of it.  "I'm…I'm sorry, Remy," she said, uncertain of what his reaction would be.  

All he could do was stare, stare behind his sunglasses.  _Did I hear right?  Did she just apologize to me?_

Her continued, full of embarrassment, "Ya saved mah life, and Ah wasn't exactly what you'd call grateful." 

He made a weak attempt at a smile.  

"It's just that…that…I didn't want someone ta get hurt again," she mumbled, her face looking down at the ground, "and on mah terms."  _Just like everyone else.  Anyone who came anywhere near me.  _

"Y' can' always blame everyt'in on y'self, Rogue," said Remy, acutely aware that he, himself, had done the exact opposite many times in his life, "T'ings happen for a reason, it's inevitable.  It's fate.  Nothin' y' can do about but go wit' de flow."

She could only gawk at him.  _Did he actually try to give me advice, deep, thoughtful advice?  Geez, he really has changed._  But more importantly, he was giving her something no one before had tried to do, or had not been successful in.  He was able to give her the sense of safety, the sense that someone thought about her.  "How insightful," she remarked dryly, "Ah'll keep that in mind, but thanks," she noted, "Thanks for trying ta help me."  Her lips twitched up into a smile, to show her appreciation before heading upstairs.  "Oh," she turned her head back to face him, "Thanks for savin' me."  

"Anytime chere," he called out in to her direction, "But wait!"

Her head twisted back to face him.  "What?"

_It's now or never._  "Well," he began uneasily and slowly, "I was wondering if you'd like to, that is, if you're not busy or anything, I mean, I don't think you'd be, but…"

"Get ta the point, Cajun."

"I was wondering if you'd like to go to the dance with me," he blurted out as fast as he could.  _Great, you made a fool of yourself, Remy.  Now she'll never even look at you again._

The look on her face was just pure shock.  _He's asking me to the dance?  But what about the troop of girls that follow him wherever he goes?  Why is he asking me?  Is this a joke?  I mean, I'd like to, but…me?  Why would a guy like him ask a girl like me?  I…_  "Ah don't know," she answered, "Ah mean, a dance?  That's when mah powers manifested, and it's not exactly a day Ah really want ta remember."  Her face fell to the ground, eyes unable to meet his.  

"Oh," the disappointment in his face was as obvious as giant billboard in the middle of nowhere, "I understand."  

That look, that look of sheer sadness and rejection could only remind her of that night.  The night when Cody asked her if he could dance with her.  When she said no, it was the same look, the exact same look on Remy's face at the moment, that caused her to give in.  She could never go on without feeling guilty to the sad puppy dog look.  So, yet again, she gave in.  "But, Ah guess Ah'll go."

His head turned, "Do y' wan' t' go, because if you're jus' doin' dis cuz y' feel bad for me, y' don' have t'."

"No," she said, while waving her hand, "Ah do want ta go," _Which I guess is true,_ "who knows, maybe it'll be fun." _Maybe._  However, she took note of the look of uncertainty on his face, "Trust me, if Ah didn't want ta go, Ah wouldn't."

"Well," he started, trying to relay all the information that was flowing through his mind at the moment, and trying not to burst from pure happiness, "I'll pick y' up at seven."  

"Uh, last time Ah checked, we live in the same building."

"Right!"  _I am a dumb ass, aren't I?  But all this doesn't matter, she said yes!  She said YES!  Hold on, what made her change her mind?_         

"See ya later," she remarked before walking back up the stairs.  _Did I do the right thing?  I want to go, and with him, but what if he's like everyone else?  Everyone who's used you, tricked you?  But he did prove himself trustworthy, didn't he?  Oh no, how is everyone else going to react to this?  Am I only doing this out of guilt or do I really want to?  And why am I bombarding myself with questions?  _

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The next couple days were pure chaos for everyone.  The news that the Goth and the ladies man were going to the dance spread like a wildfire, not just at the institute, but at school, as well.  Rogue had tried her best to ignore the loathing glares of almost every girl at school, straying away from almost any place that had a group of people.  

And though she was, surprisingly to her, pretty content, everything would have a downside.  In this case, shopping with Kitty.  Against her protests, Rogue was dragged along for the lovely shopping trip with the ever persistent Shadowcat as well as Jean.  Rogue had never been a fan of shopping, only going when necessary, and today was no exception.  Despite the pleas of both Kitty and Jean, Rogue had refused to give up her fascination with deep, dark colors, choosing a very plain black dress.  But she made a deal with her roommate.  If Rogue did buy the black dress, she wouldn't wear any makeup, just to get Kitty off her back.  

_Thank God it's over._  Rogue thought, as the three of them began walking away from the mall.  She would only force a small smile on and say a few, "yeah"s or "uh huh"s when the conversation tried to include her.  Her thoughts began to linger onto the dress she bought.  _It's…nice, but most importantly, it's me.  The me that I am from now on._

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Then came the night.  The night that most of the teens had been waiting for.  Most of them were riding in Scott's car, catching a ride to the school.  The exception was Jean, whom, of course, was going with Duncan, and was picked up before the rest of them left.  Everyone waited with baited breath, for Rogue to make her "grand" entrance.  Her first step out of hermitage, truly a sight to be seen.  

_Oh, shit, I'm probably holding everybody up._  Rogue had looked at the clock and saw the clock glowing 7:02.  Grabbing a pair of gloves, she began to fly downstairs, only to stop short when at the bottom, noticing that everyone was looking at her, waiting in anticipation for her.  She eyed all of them, only seeing the exact same looks of identical amazement on all their faces.  "Why is every body staring at me?" she asked aloud, blushing at the same time.  

"Oh, Rogue," Kitty exclaimed, "It's because you're so pretty, not that you usually aren't," she added quickly.

_She's not pretty,_ Remy thought, _She's beautiful, as always._  He took in the sight in front of him.  Gone was the makeup that covered her face, leaving it as clear as the first time he met her.  Her two toned hair was left down, as usual, giving it the au natural look.  As for her dress, it was simple, sleek, and black, hugging her body in all the right places.  Her bare shoulders were covered by a sheer black cloth shrug, preventing little accidents from happening.

"Um…guys, I think we should go now, don't you think?" Scott inquired as the attention in the room diverted to him.  

Everyone turned to the grandfather clock looming in the background, where it read 7: 13.  "Oh, yeah, we're going to be late!" squealed Kitty, running through the door, quickly followed by the rest of the crowd.  

While walking down the stairs, Rogue heard her name being called out, which prompted her to turn in that direction.  Her face was met by Remy's, who took a deep breath before speaking.  "Chere," he stammered, "Y' look, y' look…"

_I must look stupid if he can't even say anything._  "Yes?"

"Y' look really nice t'night," he spilled out, waiting for his heart to return to its normal beat.  

Her eyes glittered in the luminosity of the porch light, unable to say anything for a few moments, only wondering, _Does he really mean it?_  "Thank you," she whispered, almost inaudibly.  When she finally regained her composure, she said teasingly, "You say that ta all the girls, don't you, swamp rat?"  

He gave her a crooked smile as an answer, leading her to the car.  _Only you, chere.  Only you.  _

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Yes, I am quite unimaginative, aren't I?  Was this too stereotypical?  Just curious.  I know that nothing much happened, but more to come.  Remember to review!    

                                   


	10. Why did this happen?

I am really sorry that it took so long to get this chapter up, but I had a bad case of writer's block, tons of homework, and was unmotivated.  I knew what I wanted to write, but I couldn't think of how I was going to write it.  Anyway, here's chapter 10!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The blare of the music could be heard from the parking lot where they all dispersed.  "Wow, this is going to be so cool!  Can't wait to dance," exclaimed Kitty as she hopped out of the car and strolled to the gym's entrance.

Rogue eyed the gym, where hundreds of people were currently in, dancing, having fun.  The myriad of colored lights could be seen through the darkness.  She approached the front door, handing the person there a ticket and receiving a ticket stub in return.  Cautiously, she crept in, unsure of how everyone would react to her new look.  She felt uncomfortable without her makeup.  It had always been her protection, warding off people, keeping them all at bay.  But now, it was all gone, and she felt very vulnerable, despite the fact that she was invulnerable.  

She was incredibly grateful that no one had really noticed her entrance.  The less publicity, the better.  Her attention was diverted when she heard a snicker, almost inaudible through the music.  She turned to see Kurt, trying to hide a grin.  "Listen," he said.  

She listened.  Nothing out of the ordinary.  "What are ya tryin' ta get at, elf?" she asked.  

"It's your band," he replied.  Seeing that she had no idea what he was talking about, he said, "Ze Vhite Stripes, get it?"  He pointed towards her hair.

She felt like she could have slapped her forehead.  "My God, Kurt," she moaned, "Ah think that's probably one of the cheesiest things you've said."

"Ya," he said, still grinning, "I know.  Excuse me, but I zhink I'm going to dance now."  He stepped swiftly towards the dance floor.  

So again, she was alone, standing by herself near the gym's exit.  That is, until… "Bonne nuit, chere," said her date to the dance, "would y' like t' dance?"  His hand was stretched into her direction, waiting for her hand to join his.  

_Might as well make the most of this night._  "Sure," she said, a half smile creeping onto her face, "why not."

And so they danced, bodies swaying to the music, all eyes on them, people around, whispering, undoubtedly about them.  But for this one time, Rogue didn't care.  She didn't care that she was in the spotlight, or that people were looking at her in disbelief, or even that she had actually shown her face at an event other than school.  For once in her life, she could care less.  And yet, it confused her all the same.

The song ended, and the two looked at each other, eyes connecting for the first time since they arrived.  But alas, they were separated by the swarm of girls that descended on Remy like a hungry pack of wolves, all wanting a chance to dance with him.  He gave her a look that almost said, "can I"?  She understood, and nodded.  _He can dance with whomever he pleases.  I don't even know why he's asking me for permission._  However, she did feel her heart drop a little bit when she saw him dance with the other girls.

Since she had nothing better to do at the moment, she began to wander around the gym, only slightly aware that there were some boys eyeing her.  Again, she felt uncomfortable and vulnerable, remembering that she wasn't as covered up as usual.  It was a sickening feeling to be an object to be lusted for.  _So just because I'm wearing something a little more revealing, a little tighter, they consider me of a little importance as opposed to none?  Maybe that's another reason why I isolated myself: no idiotic, immature, delinquent boys with only hormones as guidance._    

A long shadow cast over her, causing her to jerk her head.  Her eyes met those of Brian, a junior whom she occasionally saw at school, but never talked to.  _I wonder what he wants with me?_  Her question was answered almost immediately.  "Would you like to dance?" he asked, motioning towards the dance floor.  

Rogue thought about it for a second.  Her skin was pretty much covered up, Brian seemed like a nice guy, and she was sort of bored.  In fact, she enjoyed dancing, especially after she absorbed Kitty and her psyche.  Besides, she might as well have some fun, since this a one time thing, right?  "Sure," and she headed in the direction of the groups of people, with him following closely behind.  

The next song began to drum out slowly, allowing his arm to wrap around her waist, hands resting against the small of her back.  Draping her arms around his neck, they rocked to the beat of music, like everyone around them.  

However, there was just one thing that kept bugging her.  Brian kept on pulling her closer and closer to him, leaving almost no space between them.  _What the hell…?_  Not only was it uncomfortable, but it was making her nervous.  Suppose he accidentally touched her because they were so close?  

Gently placing her elbows against his chest, she began to slowly push herself away from him.  He, of course, noticed this, and asked, "Hey, what are you doing?"

"Sorry, but Ah'd actually lahk ta breathe while Ah dance."  sway

"Come on," he said while he pulled her closer, "I thought you'd like it."  His arms were wrapped securely around her body, with him staring intently at her.  

"Would ya please let go of meh?"  Her temper as well as her voice began to rise.  As of right now, she wished that she wasn't at the stupid dance.  

"Why should I?  We can have so much fun…"  His hands were no longer around her back, but traveling down…

_Thud._  Brian was thrown to the ground, with a furious and shaken Rogue standing above him.  She grabbed him by the collar and lifted his head so that it was level with hers.  "Ya sick bastard," she whispered harshly, "You're lucky Ah didn't beat the shit out of ya."  Before he could get a word in, she pushed him back down on the ground and marched out of the gym, letting the tears that stung her eyes flow freely.  

Getting away from the building, she leaned against the side the school, letting her back slide slowly down the wall.  Her face was wet from her tears, which were still running out of her eyes.  There was an aching pain around her chest, unlike anything she had ever felt.  _I actually thought I could get away from it all.  I actually thought that I wasn't going to get hurt, like all the other times.  God, I'm stupid.   So, so stupid, a stupid, naïve little girl who doesn't know why the hell she's on the face of the earth.  I hope I never have to relive anything like that ever again.  _She scoffed at herself.  _Who am I kidding?  Something screwed up always happens whenever I go to a dance._

"Chere?"  

Rogue closed her eyes, wishing she could be Kurt and teleport away.  She refused to let anyone see her cry, or see her at this state, in any case.  "What do ya want?" she asked dully, wiping at her eyes.    

"I saw what he did t' y'," his voice was shaking, out of anger or out of nervousness, she didn't know.  "He had no right t' do what he jus' did."  

"It didn't stop him from doin' it."  

"So y're jus' goin' t' sit dere an' wallow 'bout it?"  

His reply got her off guard, since that was exactly what she wanted to do.  She knew that she shouldn't let Brian get to her, since he was a mindless imbecile, but his actions just brought her past, the past she wanted to leave behind.  Looking at the ground, she said softly, "Yeah, Ah am."

"Why are y' lettin' him get y' down?"  He squatted down so that he could be at eye level with Rogue.  "Are y' jus' going' t' let him run y' over like dat?"  

His attempt at advice infuriated Rogue.  "Ya don't understand," she said angrily, "No one evah understands."  

"Enlighten m'."  

Rogue tried to glare him down, but saw that his face showed true concern.  Sighing, she began, "Evah since Ah was a kid, everyone would say that Ah was cute, pretty, beautiful that sorta thing.  That's all anyone saw.  They didn't care about meh, just how Ah looked.  When Ah was in middle school, Ah couldn't stand it anymore, so Ah became a Goth, which worked.  Everyone was either afraid of meh or didn't want ta talk ta meh because Ah was a freak.

"What Brian did ta meh just brought back everything Ah wanted to forget.  Ah didn't want ta be a girl that everyone lahked or paid attention ta because she was pretty.  Ah just want people to accept meh for who Ah am, that's all."  Rogue gave Remy a sideways look.  "Ah know what Ah just said sounded lahk a bunch of crap from some teeny bopper TV show, but that's just what Ah want.

"Ah know Ah shouldn't have run away from mah problems all the tahme, but it was so easy, and it worked, for a while, anyway…" she glanced at Remy again, "You think Ah'm pathetic, don't ya?"

A soft smile eased onto his face, comforting her slightly.  "Non, I don't t'ink y' pathetic," he began, "jus' unsure o' y'self.  Maybe even confused."  He extended his hand towards her.  "Y' wanna leave?  I've got de feelin' y' don' wan' t' stick around."  

Giving him a small smile in thanks, she grabbed his arm and pulled herself up, dusting her dress in the process.  Remy slid his around her, creating a loop.  Surprising to him, as well as her, she didn't push away, only tugging in a little more.  "Hold on," Rogue said, while bending down to take off her shoes.  Her feet were incredibly sore after wearing 3 inch heels for the past couple hours.  She sighed as her bare feet met the coldness of the concrete and asphalt, cooling the throbbing pain she felt in her feet.  

"Would y' like m' t' take dose, madame?" Remy asked, motioning towards her shoes.  

"Well, if ya really want tah," she replied, a little uncertainly.  

"Damn!"  Remy was covering his nose when she handed over her shoes, "Y' shoes smell hella bad.  Y' got some kind o' foot fungus?" he asked jokingly.  

"Shut up!" she said, slapping his arm playfully, grinning at the same time.  

He, too, couldn't help but smile as well.  _I think this is the first time I've seen her smile like that._  Now, he didn't have to worry about whether or not she liked him, as a friend or whatever.  He didn't even care if she _did_ like him, which relieved him from thinking of ways to impress her.  _I can't believe I actually did all that crazy shit.  What got into me?_  

"Thanks for this semi-enjoyable evening," and before he could squeeze in a 'you're welcome or no problem', she continued by saying, "It's probably going to be the last."  

"What makes y' say dat?"  

"Because Ah won't let mahself get into anything lahk that again."  

"Jus' because o' what happened t'night?" Remy asked, shocked.

"Well, sort of…" she said, almost embarrassed.  

"Y' can' let some dumb ass ruin y' life.  Amier vie.  Enjoy life.  You've got plenty of time to be dead."  

Rogue looked at him a little strangely.  "Didn't know ya had a morbid sense of humor."  

"Dat's 'cuz y' don' know m'.  While I was here, y' did spend de whole time tryin' t' avoid m'."

"Yeah…well, Ah'm not avoiding ya.  Not anymore…Let's just go back ta the institute."  

Arm in arm, the two of them began to walk back, joking and laughing all the way, like old friends, despite having only truly known each other for the past 30 minutes.  One had spent the whole time trying to be someone else while the other was desperately trying to stay uninterested.  Inevitably, they wound up with each other, sneaking up on them just when they weren't paying attention.  Both, however, were oblivious to the pair of yellow eyes, glowing in the background…    

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I bet you guys saw that coming, huh?  I'm just way too predictable.  Just another mediocre chapter.  

As many of you may agree, this story has gone on long enough.  I'm going to try to limit this to under 15 chapters, give or take a chapter or two.  


End file.
